Tattoos have Japanese cover up

AFP October 29, 2009 9:43AM

SAMOAN-born All Black Rodney So'oialo, who has been put back at number-eight for the year's fourth and final trans-Tasman game in Tokyo on Saturday, has faced a culture clash this week over tattoos he and many of his team mates wear.

The All Blacks were told by team officials to cover up their tattooed arms and torsos with training vests when they took part in swimming pool sessions on Monday.

In Japan, tattoos traditionally associate a person with the yakuza, or Japanese mafia, who are heavily tattooed. Some public baths still refuse people entry if they have visible tattoos.

"Most people know that when you go to the pool in Japan you have to cover up. The players were reminded when we arrived,'' a team spokesman said. Asked about this, the 30-year-old So'oialo said tattoos on his left arm, including images of his family, had a "lot of meaning''.

"There is a lot of Asian heritage in mine and my wife's family,'' he said. "So the Asian tattoos are all over on my left arm.''

It will be the second time an Australia-New Zealand Test has played on neutral soil after a ground-breaker in Hong Kong last year. The two sides are on their way to end-of-year European tours.