FEATURE ARTICLE
IMPRESSIONS OF THE TOKYO TATTOO CONVENTION-1999
By Henk Schiffmacher
In 1978, after my career as a fashion photographer had ended, my first marriage flopped and I was led by the hand of a Dutch model who was working in Japan at the time. Young and innocent, I ended up in Tokyo as a student of the local tattoo scene. The more I learned about Japanese tattooing, the more I heard the one question Western tattoo fans fired at the Japanese, over and over again: "When will there be a tattoo convention in Japan?" The answer was always a sort of guilty smile. In Japan, tattooing is not generally accepted, which is a major obstacle when considering the planning of a convention. In addition, there is a lot of competition among members of the diverse tattoo families; the Yakuza didn't allow conventions because they couldn't agree which family should be doing the organizing. The Yamagutshi Gummi family? The Sumi Yoshi Rongo family? Or the Iwagawa family? A partnership between these families, who all had their own agendas, was impossible.
The tattoo scene in Japan slowly opened up, thanks to visits by a few tattoo missionaries like Ed Hardy and Bob Roberts. It was then that Horiyoshi saw the answer for producing a convention: A non-Japanese person should organize it! Permanent Mark was chosen. Once that was decided, the whole thing slowly started rolling. Since most young trendy Japanese people lived in Tokyo, it was the best location. The convention was set for a "Western" neighborhood.
The Tokyo Tattoo Convention-1999 was a once-in-a-lifetime event of great historical importance, especially since everything did not go completely smoothly, such as the visible comings-and-goings of Yakuza delegations, and the notorious behind the screen deals that went with it. But for us foreigners, there weren't any problems, thanks to honored hosts Horiyoshi and Tokyo's own Hori Toshi. Western tattoo artists were welcomed with great respect. Raw fish, abundant amounts of sake, handshaking and bowing—the Japanese and Western tattoo worlds celebrated and showed their best sides. It was a historic convention indeed.
In the March issue of Skin & Ink, our one and only real tattoo magazine editor, Bob Baxter, provided a full report in words and color. Bob asked me to comment on the Tokyo Convention. I accepted the assignment, but not without making a deep bow toward the land of the rising sun, a country with which the Dutch have been exclusively been doing business for 400 years—a fact that will be celebrated this year in both countries. Thank you one more time Permanent Dad and Mark. Thank you to Kawajiri, Mr. Shimada, Hori Cho and the brand new tattoo museum director Horiyoshi with whom we will work. Thank you master Hori Toshi, who is not only a tattoo master but also a great host. And thanks also to those that weren't there but who where present in my mind—the late Mr. Owada from Yokohama and Kazuo Oguri from Gifu City.
—Hanky Panky
Amsterdam, The Netherlands