Tempura, the French magazine on Japanese culture, focuses on crime in Japan in its summer issue. For this special issue, the quarterly has put on the cover a portrait of Satoru Takegaki, a former yakuza boss who has been converted to crime and whose bare torso for the photograph shows splendid dragon tattoos on his arms. In a wide-ranging interview, he speaks of the end of an era and of thugs living by a code of honour. The end of the tattooed yakuza, one might even add, as the mafia have been trying for several years to blend into society after getting rid of such distinctive signs that have become too cumbersome. The magazine also focuses on the bosozoku of Osaka, motorcycle gangs for whom tattoos are also a symbol of a marginal existence, who talk about their life between violence and fraternity. Tempura n°10 - 164 pages - 16€ - www.tempuramag.com
