When thinking about tattoos in connection with Japan, the image of the yakuza criminal groups – mafia mobsters whose bodies were adorned with intricate designs – often comes to mind. In Takeshi Kitano's films, gangsters wear their tattoos as symbols of strength and bravery, the sheer number of markings a testament to their ability to withstand pain.

"There's definitely a link between tattoos and crime, but in the Japanese tradition, this bodily adornment is much more complicated in meaning," says Adrien Bossard, director of the Musée des Arts Asiatiques (Asian Arts Museum) in Nice, currently hosting a wonderful exhibition entitled "Floating world tattoos. The imaged body in Japan." The exhibition offers a rich selection of prints, travelogues, photos, film posters, objects and contemporary artworks, all from the private collection of enthusiast Xavier Durand, who has curated the exhibition alongside the museum's director.

The originality of the exhibition lies in how it approaches the subject matter from the point of view of its artistic representation, going all the way back to the Edo period (1603-1868). During this period, when Japan was very inward-looking, tattooing was very popular among commoners. Ink was used in prison to engrave "infamous marks" on the arms and faces of convicts. On a lithograph taken from the Illustrated Guide to the Punishments of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1893), we see a man, his face grimacing with pain, having his arm branded with two black stripes to reflect the offense he has committed.

Men who worked physical jobs that required strength, such as carpenters or firefighters, liked to show off their muscles, displaying tattoos of real or mythical animals, legendary characters and other fantastical figures intertwined with stunning scenery. Many of these are depicted in ukiyo-e woodblock prints, works on paper reflecting the urban culture of the time – indeed, the first master tattoo artists were wood engravers working for the great painters. Artists also found inspiration in literature and its famous tattooed heroes, such as Kyumonryu Shishin, whose body was adorned with nine dragons, or Kaosho Rochishin, the so-called "flowery monk," from the best-selling Chinese novel The Water Margin.

Although not so popular among women, tattoos did in fact adorn the bodies of one category of the female population: courtesans. To reflect their attachment to one of their clients, they would have a "pledge mark" (kishobori) tattooed onto their arm, a symbol of exclusivity. This is illustrated in one of Kitao Shigemasa's prints (1739-1820) depicting a prostitute, sitting next to a man embracing her. It shows her lifting the sleeve of her kimono to show him her symbol of fidelity.

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