Taiwan— Tattoo scenes & cities

In Taiwan, the Atayal, along with the Seediq and Truku of the north-east, tattooed their faces. The mark signalled entry into adulthood: men received it after proving their worth in hunting or, in other accounts, in headhunting, women after mastering weaving. The pigment, a mix of charcoal and pine oil, was driven in with a needle tool struck by a hammer.

During the Japanese period (1895-1945), the authorities, who judged it barbaric, banned facial tattooing and pushed mountain communities down to the plains; some tattooed women came to feel ashamed of their marks. In 2019 the Taipei Times counted only two elders still bearing facial tattoos. A photographer from these peoples has gathered hundreds of portraits and recordings of them.