There are some records that indicate that the Japanese were tattooing themselves back as far as 300 BC and possibly even earlier but it is a subject that is debate by scholars. These earliest tattooing was done as some soft of religious symbol. Then for a long period of time tattoos became a way to mark criminals. Then during the Edo Period the art of tattoo became wildly practiced as woodblock artist started to use their tools to tattoo the body. This developed the art of tattooing away from a way of marking criminals and over time it became an art form and sort of a social status symbol. In modern history "irezumi" (Japanese term for tattooing) was associated mostly with the Yakuza or Japanese gangs.
