ORIENTAL TATTOO

"Men, young and old, all tattoo their faces and decorate their bodies with designs....A son of the ruler of Shao-k'ang of Hsia, when he was offered as lord of K' uai-chi, cut his hair and decorated his body with designs in order to avoid the attack of serpents and dragons. The Wa (Japanese), who are fond of diving into water to get fish and shells, also decorated their bodies in order to keep away large fish and waterfowl. Later, however, the designs became merely ornamental. Designs on the body differ in the various countries.... their position and size vary according to the rank of the individual" (Goodrich 1951:10).