Some public places like bathhouses in Japan carry signs that prohibits anyone with tattoos from entering.

No gangs are more known for their tattoos than the yakuza ( japanese gangster ). In a society that has such strict social codes as the japanese, tattoos are of even greater significance. They forever mark you as an outcast.

Yakuza culture has become less apparent today. Tattoos have started to become common among all social classes, but they still carry a stigma, particularly among the older generation.