Ainu

The Ainu are Indigenous people whose histories extend across Hokkaido, Sakhalin and nearby regions. Their arts include embroidered robes, carved wood and a distinctive tradition of women's tattooing.

A mouth tattoo was built up over years. Small marks grew into a dark band around the lips, with points extending towards the cheeks. Women also had designs on their hands and arms. Older women, often relatives, made fine cuts and rubbed soot into the skin.

The completed tattoos could express beauty, maturity and readiness for marriage. They were also connected with protection and the journey to the ancestors after death. They meant far more than the moustaches that some European visitors thought they resembled.

Japanese restrictions, including a ban in 1871, put the tradition under pressure. Robes with striking embroidered patterns carried another form of protective decoration. Ainu people continue today, keeping and renewing artistic knowledge passed through their communities.