Tattoo in public pool
 

Hi, Yesterday I was told at my local public pool that I had to cover my tattoo. I know this is normal for private pools and gyms but on what grounds can they refuse entry to a public facility to someone who pays the local taxes?

So they can refuse entry to yakuza without saying "yakuza".

I would think it to be even more common in public places, as there is more exposure to, well, the general public. And, although my knowledge of yakuza's preference in pools or gyms is limited, I could only assume allowing others to display their tattoos would have more potential to create complications for the owner(s) in a public place than a private.

I am guessing you are in japan? They do that so they can refuse entry to Yakuza members.

Is the yakuza problem in japan really that bad?

It depends on what you consider "bad". Plenty exist, and are often very obviously so. Do they usually do anything? No. But they tend to make people uncomfortable, and can cause businesses problems... So they will ban them the way they can without actually pointing out the underlying reason by blocking the most popular way of displaying affiliation - tattoos. As tattoos aren`t popular with the rest of the population, it`s a pretty easy way to block the people they want to block without blocking those they don`t.

I have met a few in my time here, and they`ve all been "normal" people. Long long ago one of my friends went out with a guy who was low level, and he was pretty understanding about the whole thing and before going out anywhere he`d actually call to check the policies. (刺青入ってるんやけど、どうや？) Apparently if confronted about it at the place he`d have been obligated to make a scene, and didn`t want to.

:eek: ,first time to hear this. Why?

Am I right in thinking it's not so much the ~yakuza~ per se who cause the greatest problems, because as you say, they're pretty laid back for a gang culture, but the chinese gangs who also have tattoos and well, make the yakuza look like a bunch of pussycats. That's what I heard anyway; that the yakuza are becoming increasingly more subtle and the chinese/S.E Asian gangs are moving to fill the void for violent gang crime. Not that people's leeriness about yazuka is unfounded, but still... I guess might explain why some places are rigid about even tourists with tattoos entering.

No, the tattoo bans are very long-standing in Japan and were definitely implemented to keep out the yakuza. If they keep out members of other gangs then I'm sure the management is quite happy with that as a side-effect though. I wouldn't call the yakuza pussycats either, they still have a lot to do with the drug trade, intimidation and all kinds of fraud as well as still being involved in plenty of murders including the assassination of the mayor of Nagasaki not so many years back.

As for the question on what grounds do public swimming pools ban people with tattoos, well, on the grounds that the majority of their patrons are quite happy to see that ban in place. If the public thought that the ban was unreasonable and unfair, then it would have to be removed. Currently the public here does not think so, therefore the bans remain.

I don`t have anything other than hearsay to go on for the Chinese gang stuff - so take it with a bit of salt. Plus, they`re not a huge problem around here. It seems they hang out more in Osaka and Tokyo... We`ve got Brazilian and Iranian gangs in these parts. The Iranians seem to have calmed down a bit but Brazilians have taken their place. In general though, it`s more theft and swindling than outright violence these days. Back long long ago, you could get beat up by the Iranians for not buying their fake phone cards...

I think the real problem is more the "wannabe" yakuza. The young guys in their teens who think the way to be a big bad yakuza is to make huge scenes, get big obnoxious tattoos, and stir up trouble to "prove" their strength. As the Yakuza is a business in the end, these guys aren`t the best people to be members, so sort of get ignored or used for dirty work when the real thing doesn`t want to get their hands dirty. They also (inadvertently I am sure) stir up business for the real guys by creating a problem businesses want someone to block.

And a couple random stories... Once long long ago as I was walking home from school a (clearly out of it, insanely laughing) homeless guy came up on his bicycle and tried to grab me. I was walking along a river side and the sun was going down. There was no easy way to quickly get somewhere populated or into a building. I screamed and did my best to dodge this guy with horrific images of being raped, killed and tossed into the river. On the other side of the river one of those loud irritating motorcycle gangs was apparently gathered and doing their thing... And the spotted what was happening. They came over at full speed, the guy ran off, and then asked me if I was okay - etc. I guess the guy had a history of molesting girls walking home so they "kept an eye on him". They gave me a ride home, and were really nice in the end.

And... There is a very obvious yakuza house in an area I frequent. I`ve walked past it a bunch of times. One time a guy was out washing the car with his shirt tied around his waist making it a very obvious statement about who they were. My son of course commented on the huge picture on the guy`s back... He turned around, smiled, walked over to us. He patted my son on the head and said "Cool isn`t it? Can you find the little birds hidden in there? My little boy drew them and I put them in so they`d be there forever." I commented on the nice car, and we had a couple minutes of small talk about how hot it was. As we walked away, the guy waved and another guy in a black suit came out and waved too.