History and origins of tattooing-Japanese tattoo. In Japanese tattoos are called irezumi or ireru horimoNo. The Japanese people used tattoos for decorative and spiritual porpouse. The practice takes hold from the Jomon period. At the beginning of the Meiji period the Japanese government declared outlawed the use of tattoos which took conNotations of 'crime.' Even today tattoos are used by members of criminal gangs such as the Yakuza