Ainu Tattoos

According to Romyn Hitchcock, an ethnologist for Smithsonian Institution in the late 19th century, Ainu tattoo was laid upon the skin at specific intervals, the process sometimes extending over several years: “The faces of the women are disfigured by tattooing around the mouth, the style with locality. Young maidens of six or seven have a little spot on the upper lip. As they grow older, this is gradually extended until more or less broad band surrounds the mouth and extends into a tapering curve on both cheeks towards the ears.”
Of course, the tattooist wanted her client to remain still throughout the painful, since it was believed that the ritual would prepare the girl for childbirth once she had become a bride. The pain was so painful, one or more assistants held the client down so that the tattooist could continue her work.
After the mouth tattooing, the lips would feel like burning embers. The client became excited and the pain and swelling would keep her from getting much sleep. Food became afterthought and when the tattoo client became thirsty a piece of cotton grass was dipped in water and placed against the lips for the client to suck on.
The completed lip tattoos of women were significant in regards to Ainu perceptions of life experience. First, these tattoos were believed to repel evil spirits from entering the body (mouth) and causing sickness or misfortune. Secondly, the lip tattoos indicated that a woman had reached maturity and was ready for marriage. And finally, lip tattoos assured the woman life after death in the place of her deceased ancestors.
Apart from lip tattoos, however, Ainu women wore several other tattoo marks on their arms and hands usually consisting of curved and geometric designs. These motifs, which were begun as early as the fifth or sixth year, were projected to protect young girls from evil spirits. Other marks were placed on various parts of the body as charms against diseases.