Irezumi is any of several forms of traditional Japanese tattooing, along with certain modern forms derived from or inspired by these. Tattooing for spiritual and decorative purposes in Japan is thought to extend back to at least the Jōmon or paleolithic period (approximately 10,000 BC). Some scholars have suggested that...
Colored Photos of Japanese Samurai (1800s)
Samurai (侍) were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. In Japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi (武士) or buke (武家). According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning "to wait upon" or "accompany persons" in...