Ainu women in Aslahikawa, Hokkaido 1910-20

"The name Ainu refers to indigenous natives of the Northern Islands of Japan. Tattooing was common among Ainu women until the turn of the 20th Century. They wore designs around their lips and mouths as well as hands and arms. The tattooing process was completed over several years, as a rite of passage into adulthood. Ainu men did not wear tattoos."

Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Japanese woodblock prints and tattoo designs.