🇯🇵 From #WiderImage: Shodai Horiren got her first tattoo as a lark on a trip to Australia nearly three decades ago. Now, tattooed head to foot, even on her shaven scalp, she is one of Japan’s most renowned traditional tattoo artists reut.rs/3kz6iVw 1/6 
Horiren belongs to a proud, growing tribe of Japanese ink aficionados who defy deeply-rooted taboos associating tattoos with crime, turning their skin into vivid palettes of color with elaborate full-body designs, often featuring characters from traditional legends 2/6
Banned from spas, hot spring resorts, some beaches and many gyms and pools, these enthusiasts hope the presence of tattooed foreign athletes at last year’s Rugby World Cup will help sweep away suspicion 3/6
Tattoos have been linked to criminals for as long as 400 years, most recently to yakuza gang members, whose full-body ink-work stops short of hands and neck, allowing concealment under regular clothes 4/6
A court decision last year that tattoos were for decoration, and were not medical procedures, helped clarify their murky legal status and may signal a shift in attitude - perhaps leading the industry to regulate itself, giving it a more mainstream image 5/6
Referring to them as tattoos rather than 'irezumi' - meaning 'inserting ink' - is becoming more common and may also help give them a stylish, fashionable veneer. Read more on the Japanese ink tribe defying tattoo taboos reut.rs/3kz6iVw by @topixkim and @emlies16 6/6
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