Hanzo's Yakuza Tattoo from Predator

Hanzo from new Predator movie, originally uploaded by nrillustration.

I am often forced to watch war and alien movies on the night they debut. With the release of the new Predator movie, today was no exception. All in all it was a well done movie with creepy predators popping out of nowhere and plenty of blood and guts to go around. But my favorite part of the movie was the fight scene with Hanzo, the Japanese Yakuza warrior. [No worries, this is not a spoiler]. By far the coolest character in the movie, he also sports a fantastic tattoo covering his chest and back. The photo above is the best I could find on the internet (from Beyond Hollywood) but I'd love to see it up close.

The Yakuza are basically the Japanese mob and many wear full-body tattoos (irezumi). A lot of the tattoos seem to have that empty space down the middle like the one Hanzo wears. Apparently the Yakuza rarely show their tats in public, covering up with high neck and long sleeve shirts. If you want to learn more, there's some good info at Dreadloki and more photos at Body Adorned.