2020.3.2
2020.3.2
My name is Akio Nagayama and I’m the owner of Pahi.
We create a variety of goods that we hope are beneficial to those use them, starting from products concerning cars, and then moving onto toys, household electronics, robotics and so on.
This time we’ve looked at creating a product that would be beneficial to both visitors to Japan as well as the owners of onsens. This [Body Concealer] can be used when entering an onsen on those that have tattoos to hide them from plain site.
While not the perfect solution to the problem, trying to change a nation's perception and culture when it comes to tattoos will take a while.
This [Body Concealer] is the result of my connection to both Japan and the West. Being born in New Zealand, a country that also has a very predominate tattoo culture, I have seen how hard it can be for friends that come to Japan that wish to join in with this part of Japanese culture. By trying to solve problems like this, I want to help open up Japan to everyone around me.
Japan has a long traditional culture of Tattoos, with tattoos being seen beginning in around the 17th century, using a method called Tebori, or tattooing by hand in contrast to the machine method we see these days.
However with the Yakuza crime syndicate appropriated this culture in the 19th Century and since then, the culture has shunned Tattoos, leading to a period up to the Occupation by America after WW2 where Tattoos were illegal.
Although this changed, in today’s society, people with Tattoos are shunned and pushed to the side affecting their ability to enter certain facilities and obtain jobs. One such part of Japanese society that shuns those with Tattoos, is the Onsen culture, with many establishments not allowing those with Tattoos.
For those of your that live in Japan or have been here before, you may have been to an onsen establishment before. A common site is some of the signs like below.
Establishments that allow for tattoos and so on are few and far between.
What’s more, 45.7% of people that come to Japan, wish to experience onsen when they visit again. To those that wish to enter while having a tattoo it is hard to find places that accept them. For me, it’s a great shame that a fundamental part of Japanese culture is closed off to those that visit for something that can be such a visually stunning piece of art on their bodies. For some, tattoos are used to cover up birthmarks or scars, so this is extra hard on these visitors, and frankly unacceptable.
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics happening, Japan is set to see a large influx of foreign visitors.
Looking at just the amount of sportspeople hat have tattoos, it would be obvious that something would need to be done to help with accommodating them. Many professional sportsmen and women have tattoos, with reasons such as keeping their spirits up when travelling abroad away from family, or for making a permanent mark of their life's motto, or in the cases of people from New Zealand or other Polynesian Islands such as Samoa, Tribal Tattoos are extremely common.
With this year being the year of the Olympics we expect athletes as well as fans from all over to be coming in droves, all carrying an assortment of tattoos. As our guests we should try our best to accommodate these fans. While it is near impossible to change centuries of cultural opposition to tattoos in a few months, we hope to help by creating a type of bridge to making this possible! Without being able to cause a sudden change in discriminatory policies, the fastest and easiest way is to help those that do have tattoos cover up with a non-permanent solution!
The [Body Concealer] that we have created has 3 main features to it.
・Able to be used as simply as makeup that is spray on
・Four colours to choose from that will suit your skin tone.
・Highly waterproof, and will last for up to a week with constant cover.
The use of this product is extremely simple. Just choose a spray that matches your skin tone, and apply over the selected area. After it has dried, you can apply baby powder to help blend it even more.
①Ease of Use
Even without going to a Beauty Salon, this product can be used to cover an area! Also with a lasting ability to stay for up to a week, you don’t have to worry about continuous reapplication. For those that wish to remove it, a simple ethanol sterilizer can be used!
②Beautiful Application
Due to being a spray, it is to get an even coverage and hard to create creases and so on. Also as you can choose the perfect spray to get the right tone for your skin, it will look natural compared to the rest of your body. Finally it is completely safe to use and won't cause irritation to the skin
③Highly Waterproof
After drying completely, even if you try to scrape it, it’s extremely hard to remove! This means it won’t make marks on the your clothes! As well as this, even if you sweat a lot, or are in a body of water, it won’t come off meaning you can enjoy yourself to your heart’s content!
Those that have tattoos, those that have marks they wish to hide, those that wish to hide scars. etc might wish to use this spray.
※Not to be used on the face, on the genitals or on open wounds.
・Onsen
・Pool
・Seaside resorts
・Gyms
・Wedding Ceremonies
・Formal Occasions
etc…
If this type of spray was used at a salon, the price for covering a size of a postcard would cost around 5,000 Yen -10,000 Yen and for a full covering of the back it would cost around 20,000 Yen to 40,000 Yen! With this product you can make a large amount of savings as well as have enough concealer to use for up to two times covering!
There are of course different methods of covering tattoos.
For example, some people try to use stickers to cover the area, but they look unnatural as well as not faring well in water! Many establishments also look down on this method and won’t allow for people to cover it via these stickers.
Another product that we created was an airbrush version of the Body Concealer that was more focused on Beauty Salons and so on, and is quite hard for an individual to use.
But as more visitors come to Japan, we wanted to find a way to help open up the Onsen culture to them!
According to 2018 Dalia Research, the largest amount of people with tattoos aged 14-65 can be found in Italy at 48%! After that people from Sweden (47%), America(46%) and Australia(43%) are quite high in the rankings.
For many, tattoos are a form of expression and fashion. This is compared to the population in Japan that have tattoos, which sits at just about 2.5%. It’s not hard to see why Japanese culture shies away from tattoos.
It is easy to say that with about half the population of America and Australasia having tattoos, it is not seen as a taboo, even more, a new trend of those getting tattoos has surfaced in Europe.
In London, a large event is held - [LONDON TATTOO CONVENTION] which celebrates the culture of tattoos.
Finally with stars such as former football player David Beckham or movie star Angelina Jolie sporting tattoos, it can be said that tattoos are seen as being as natural as piercings and so on.
♦Name of Product:Body Concealer
♦Included:One can of spray of your chosen colour, Instruction manual
※One can of spray contains enough to cover more than 10 postcard sized pieces of paper. (The ability to cover a tattoo depends on the deepness of the colour of the tattoo)
♦Name of Product:Body Concealer Remover
※This remover was specially made to easily and cleanly remove the body concealer spray after use!
Unfortunately due to being a spray, we aren't able to send the product overseas. Therefore if you live outside of Japan, we can't offer you the Body Concealer.
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This is an All-In project. Regardless of the target amount, this project will be funded with the amount of money raised.
Back for free(Share Project)
Born in New Zealand, and raised in a predominantly foreign environment leading to the majority of friends being foreign, he became determined to solving problems that foreigners have while in Japan.
One of the biggest problems he saw was that Japan’s culture of onsen is shut off from those that come from the West and have tattoos. With this he looked at ways to help accommodate the travellers, as changing the current culture will take time. By doing so he looked at ways that could be useful from both sides, both travellers and onsen users.
He is looking at other ways he can help bridge the gap between Japanese people and culture and foreign visitors.
This is an All-In project. Regardless of the target amount, this project will be funded with the amount of money raised.
♦Name of Product:Body Concealer
♦Included:One can of spray of your chosen colour, baby powder, Instruction manual
※One can of spray contains enough to cover more than 10 postcard sized pieces of paper. (The ability to cover a tattoo depends on the deepness of the colour of the tattoo)
♦Name of Product:Body Concealer
♦Included:One can of spray of your chosen colour, One bottle of specially made Remover, Instruction manual
※One can of spray contains enough to cover more than 10 postcard sized pieces of paper. (The ability to cover a tattoo depends on the deepness of the colour of the tattoo)
♦Name of Product:Body Concealer
♦Included:One can of spray of your chosen colour, One bottle of specially made Remover, baby powder, Instruction manual
※One can of spray contains enough to cover more than 10 postcard sized pieces of paper. (The ability to cover a tattoo depends on the deepness of the colour of the tattoo)
♦Name of Product:Body Concealer
♦Price at Retail : 4000 Yen per can
♦Included:One can of spray of your chosen colour, baby powder, Instruction manual
※One can of spray contains enough to cover about two sides of A4 paper. (The ability to cover a tattoo depends on the deepness of the colour of the tattoo)
中山 裕美
頑張ってください!
Akio Nagayama
応援頂きましてありがとうございます!!
これからも笑顔になる人が増えるように努力して参りますので、
引き続き応援の程、よろしくお願い申し上げます。