One of the staples of the Like a Dragon (formerlyYakuza) series is characters ripping off their shirts just before a battle, allowing players to get a good look at their stunning traditional Japanese tattoos. From Kiryu’s iconic dragon to Majima’s Hannya mask, there have been plenty of incredible designs throughout the years, and every fan has their favourite.
We recently spoke with Horitomo, real name Kazuaki Kitamura, the traditional Japanese tattoo artist responsible for the designs featured in the series. Horitomo was born in Japan in 1971 and started his career as a tattoo artist in Nagoya when he was 22 years old. He studied Western-style tattoos at the start of his career, as this style was becoming popular among young Japanese people, and it wasn’t until he moved to Osaka that he started becoming interested in Japanese tattoos. In 2001, he moved to Yokohama to study traditional Japanese tattooing full-time.
“There is a traditional tattoo technique called ‘Tebori’ in Japanese tattooing,” Horitomo explains. “It is tattooing by hand, without a machine. Traditionally, it was a bamboo or wooden stick—these days most artists who do Tebori use stainless steel—with a grouping of needles at the end. From there ink is inserted into the skin. It takes longer than tattoos done by machine, but the colours are richer and more vibrant. Of course, some traditional Japanese tattoo artists use tattoo machines, and most artists outline tattoos with a tattoo machine and do Tebori to fill in the tattoos.”
While Horitomo was working in Yokohama, he was approached by a Sega representative who had seen his work featured in a magazine article about Japanese tattoo artists. The representative asked him to design a tattoo for an upcoming game, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“When deciding on a tattoo design for a character, some were decided from the beginning,” Horitomo explains, telling us that Sega informed him that Kiryu needed a dragon tattoo, and so that’s what he designed. “In most cases, however, I would first ask about the character’s story, personality, and background. Then I would suggest several tattoos that I thought would suit the character.”
Although Majima featured in the original Yakuza, he was just a side character, so eagle-eyed fans will notice his tattoo isn’t quite as it should be when peeking out from behind his jacket. That’s because Horitomo didn’t fully design Majima’s tattoo until Yakuza 2, when he had a larger role and finally received his own moment to rip his clothes off.
Majima’s tattoo was fixed in Yakuza Kiwami, but you may see his original character model here where his tattoo is only on one side of his chest.
“That was more than 18 years ago, so it is difficult to trace my memory of those days in detail. But I will tell you as much as I can,” Horitomo says when I ask how he decided on Majima’s tattoo. “Hannya masks are masks that express women’s jealousy and resentment. There is a Japanese Kabuki and Noh play called ‘Dojoji’, which is based on a Japanese legend about a woman who fell in love with a young monk and turned into a snake while pursuing him, and finally burned the monk to death in a jealous fire.
“The performer wears this Hannya mask, which symbolizes the woman’s transformation into a snake. The snake is considered a messenger of the gods in Japan, but it is also considered a vindictive creature. I felt at the time that Majima’s obsession with Kiryu and his crazy personality had something in common with the story of the Hannya mask and snake.”
Horitomo says that it’s hard for him to choose a favourite tattoo that he’s designed for Like a Dragon. While he’s naturally proud of Kiryu’s tattoo as it’s so iconic, it was pre-decided that his motif would be a dragon. Interestingly, Horitomo tells us that Kasuga’s tattoo was not and there was more discussion involved, which eventually led to his proposed design being chosen. As a result, Kasuga’s tattoo is particularly memorable for him.
Though traditional Japanese tattoos are now often associated with anti-social behaviour and outlaws, Horitomo explains they were not always exclusive to the yakuza. In the late Edo period, tattoos were also very popular among firemen, craftsmen, and labourers. The Japanese government implemented a series of bans on tattoos until 1948, and it was during one of the longer ban periods that tattooing went underground.
“In the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, yakuza movies featuring many tattoos became popular,” Horitomo tells us. “Their influence was so great that the image of tattoos and yakuza became firmly established in the mind of the Japanese public.
“The reason why yakuza get tattoos is generally considered to be a statement of their determination to cut themselves off from the general society and not return, thereby defiling the body they received from their parents. Confucianism is deeply rooted in Japan and many people believe the act of scarring one’s body is an act of disrespect to one’s parents.”
Images via Horitomo.
Times have changed, and Horitomo tells us that now Western-style tattoos are often accepted as fashionable in Japan, though Japanese tattoos still have a stigma attached to them, “Traditional Japanese tattoos still have a strong anti-social, outlaw or Yakuza image. I have seen many posts on social media, especially in Japan, expressing dislike for traditional Japanese tattoos.”
With such a massive fanbase for Like a Dragon worldwide, it’s understandable that many fans have taken inspiration from the games and had similar designs tattooed on themselves. “It is my mission as a tattoo artist to spread the beauty of traditional Japanese tattoos to the world, so I am very happy about that,” Horitomo says when I ask him how he feels about fans using his designs for real tattoos.
In fact, Horitomo has tattooed several designs based on the series himself, “Although not exactly the same design, there have been several requests from fans of the game to have the same motif as the character tattooed on them. Kiryu’s dragon, Majima’s Hannya mask and so on. Recently, a tattoo based on Kasuga’s back design is in progress.”
Horitomo is now based in San Jose, California working atState of Grace Tattoo, and you can check out his workon his Instagram.
Like a Dragon Week
Like a Dragon Week is TheGamer’s celebration of all things Yakuza/Like a Dragon, with features, interviews, and opinions on Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s massively popular series of action-adventue brawlers.
