The Chinese novel Water Margin (Shuǐ Hǔ Zhuàn), a foundational work of premodern Chinese literature, has had a profound influence on the representations and practices of tattooing in both China and Japan. This article explores the impact of this major literary work on the historical and social meanings of tattoos in these two cultures. While tattooing has a long-standing tradition in both China and Japan, its significance has evolved over time—from ritualistic and cultural practices to symbols of marginality and punishment. In China, tattoos were often associated with peripheral ethnic groups such as the Man and Yi peoples, while in Japan, they were commonly used as stigmatic marks for criminals, and later became associated with the yakuza underworld.
The introduction of Water Margin, with its many iconographic representations of tattooed heroes, marked a turning point. This analysis focuses on the character Lu Zhishen, a figure who embodies both spiritual and rebellious traits, and whose tattooed body reflects a marginal yet valorized identity. Heroes like Lu Zhishen helped redefine the image of tattooing, elevating it into an aesthetic and moral symbol of strength, loyalty, and honor. Through the widespread dissemination of the novel and the ukiyo-e prints that illustrated its episodes, these visual representations played a crucial role in the rehabilitation and cultural valorization of tattooing—particularly in the development of traditional Japanese tattoo art (irezumi).
By combining literary analysis, art history, and cultural anthropology, this article sheds light on the complex relationship between literature, visual art, and social practices. It illustrates how a literary work can deeply shape cultural traditions and transform bodily practices into markers of both personal and collective identity.
