‘Completely different from tattoos’: how body art indigenous to Okinawa, Japan, is being revived for a new generation as a way to ‘retain the culture’

Hajichi, hand-poked markings worn by women, is a traditional part of Ryukyu culture once banned in Japan; the practice had all but disappeared until recently

Now tattoo artist Moeko Heshiki is reviving the body art, inking those with Okinawan roots but conscious of the need to avoid it being reduced to a fad

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Tattoo artist Moeko Heshiki displays her body art. The “hajichi” body art, once banned, is a tradition among women of Japan’s Ryukyu island chain that nearly died out. Heshiki is helping revive it by inking clients - as long as they have roots in the Ryukyus. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:15am, 21 Feb 2023Updated: 1:58am, 7 Mar 2023

Moeko Heshiki is no ordinary tattoo artist: she is one of the few people keeping the once-banned tradition of hajichi body art alive for the indigenous Ryukyu people of Japan’s Okinawa region.

The traditionally hand-poked markings were once common on women of the Ryukyu, who lived throughout the southern islands of what is now Japan.

The monochrome patterns, ranging from delicate arrow-like symbols to arrays of large dots, marked important moments in a woman’s life and, in some cases, were believed to ensure passage to heaven.

When Japan annexed the Okinawa island chain in 1879, however, a process of forced assimilation set the hajichi tradition on the path to extinction.

Tattoo artist Moeko Heshiki, who is half Okinawan, stumbled upon the “hajichi” body art traditionally worn by women of the Japanese island and others in the Ryukyus while researching possible tattoos. Photo: AFP

In mainland Japan, tattoos were associated with illegal behaviour, because criminals were sometimes tattooed by authorities to mark them out.