A centuries-old artform, irezumi draws on Japanese mythology and iconography for inspiration. The result is some of the most colorful and intricate examples of the tattooist's art found anywhere.

He's being inked from shoulder to wrist ... After the Second World War, Japanese tattoos (known as "irezumi") were strongly tied to Japan's yakuza crime gangs. For decades, mobsters got tattoos ...

A growing number of Japanese enthusiasts ... and gyms ban body tattoos, photographer Kim Kyung-Hoon met some of them at a public bath in Tokyo. The annual gathering of the Irezumi Aikokai (Tattoo ...