Did you follow the fate of Japanese tattoo artist Taiki Masuda?
For those who do not know about this case, Taiki Masuda was in the center of the struggle of the Japanese government with a tattoo. In 2015, Osaka police made a full-scale raid on the city’s tattoo studios, arresting or fining many tattooists for work without a medical license, which is technically illegal in accordance with a law adopted more than half a century ago. Nevertheless, despite the strong pressure from the authorities, some of the tattooists came out with the intention to fight for the right to engage in ancient art. Taiki Masuda has become the one of these fighters. In September 2017, Masuda was found guilty of violating medical law. However, instead of paying the fine, he decided to advocate for the recognition of the tattoo as a form of artistic creation, but not a medical procedure.
The whole tattooed world watched the struggle of the brave Japanese tattoo artist. It lasted a whole year, and finaly, he was declared innocent. “The tattooing procedure is not relevant to medicine and it does not constitute a medical act controlled under the medical practitioners’ law” - said presiding judge Masaki Nishida.
This is a really exciting win for tattooists from all over the world. Japanese tattoo, represent the spirit, aesthetics, legends and history of the oldest country on Earth. We heartily congratulate Masuda and his team on this incredible victory, which brought new hope to a free future for Japanese tattooists.
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