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The story
Gaasyy (real name Yoshikazu Higashitani, 54), a former Upper House lawmaker who now works as a rakugo storyteller, raised questions on his X account on October 17 about bathhouses that ban tattooed customers from bathing. Speaking as someone with tattoos himself, he offered his opinion that “it’s strange that foreigners are allowed in but Japanese people aren’t” and that tattoos are “becoming part of fashion now.” The post drew mixed reactions on the 5ch forum. Many commenters voiced concerns about the link between tattoos and yakuza/organized crime, and the thread cited a case in Takamatsu where a bathhouse trial-lifted its tattoo ban, only to reinstate it within one to two months after a surge in disruptive behavior — fueling a divided debate.
Gaasyy asks, “Why can’t I use the sauna just because I have a tattoo?” — “I have one myself, so it genuinely baffles me.”
Gaasyy (real name Yoshikazu Higashitani, 54), a former Upper House lawmaker now working as a rakugo storyteller, updated his X (formerly Twitter) account on the 17th.
He shared his opinion on bathhouses that ban tattooed customers from bathing.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
No it isn't.
If I see someone with a tattoo, I keep as far away as possible.
Because getting involved with them never leads anywhere good.
They're good at exploiting people's weaknesses.
They're the leeching, extortionist type (takari).
It's threatening, and scribbling graffiti on your own body isn't normal.
It's gross.
You say it's become fashion, but it hasn't.
It's scary.
I mean, he IS a criminal.
regular customers stop coming,
and the business stops doing well.
Regular customers get scared and stay away.
Gross.
If you want in, why not just get the tattoo removed?
It's not everyone else who should accommodate you —
you're the one who should accommodate everyone else!
make sure no more shops that tried allowing tattoos end up banning them again from too much trouble first.
Everyone else looks at him the way you'd look at a bug.
What they want to ban isn't the tattoo itself — it's the yakuza lol
They just want to keep the yakuza out! That's all there is to it.
If you've got a brain, you'd understand that lmao
There's a long, negative history behind why tattoos still aren't widely accepted by the general public.
Here's how that actual incident played out (the Golden Time Takamatsu case):
• Background: In response to the growing number of inbound foreign tourists and tattooed artists using the facility,
management trial-lifted the ban on tattooed customers, requiring a signed pledge and compliance with certain rules.
• Outcome: Within barely one to two months of lifting the ban, it reverted to a full ban again.
• What actually went wrong: According to the operating company, while most customers followed the rules, a minority caused frequent disruptive behavior, including:
• Smoking outside designated areas (e.g., the outdoor relaxation space)
• Damage to facility equipment
• Intimidating words and behavior toward staff and other regular customers
• Visits by individuals suspected of ties to organized crime (yakuza, semi-gangster groups, etc.)
But in most cases, both are meant to intimidate.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Restrictions on tattooed customers at bathhouses and saunas are a long-standing practice rooted in anti-organized-crime ordinances, and this dispute pits the perception that “tattoos equal organized crime” against the spread of fashion tattoos driven by rising numbers of inbound foreign tourists. The thread split over whether the real issue is “should tattoos themselves, as a visual marker, be restricted?” or “is the actual goal to exclude organized crime?” — with commenters repeatedly citing the symbolic case of a Takamatsu facility that trial-lifted its tattoo ban only to reinstate it after one to two months following a surge in intimidating behavior and property damage. One easily misunderstood point: traditional Japanese irezumi tattoos and Western-style fashion tattoos are received very differently by society, and the reason foreign tourists’ tattoos tend to be tolerated isn’t racial favoritism — it’s that facilities judge them to have a much weaker association with organized crime.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Hōdō+) thread “Gaasyy: ‘Why can’t I use the sauna just because I have a tattoo?’ ‘Isn’t it weird that foreigners are allowed?’ ‘It’s already becoming part of fashion’.”
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