Yakuza Tattoos In Netflix’s Gokushufudou The Way of the Househusband Censored In China

Spencer Baculi |

Apr 14, 2021

Source: Gokushufudou The Way of the Househusband Episode 1 (2021), J.C. Staff

The Yakuza tattoos of Gokushufudou, The Way of the Househuband’s protagonist, which denote his plot-relevant former membership in the Japanese criminal organization, have been censored by Netflix for the series’ Chinese release.

A ‘motion-comic’ (and that’s being generous) adaptation of Kousuke Oono’s comedy manga of the same name ‘animated’ (again, generous) by J.C. Staff and licensed by Netflix, Gokushufudou The Way of the Househusband follows the day-to-day life of Tatsu, a Yakuza boss who retires from the gang in order to support his wife’s career aspirations, as he takes care of his household’s domestic duties.

Given Tatsu’s former role as a Yakuza boss, he unsurprisingly bears a prominent back tattoo, a cosmetic alteration common among members of the real-life organization. The intricate piece, which depicts a black dragon surrounded in black flames, spans the entirety of his back and down the back of his biceps.

However, such is not the case in China. As discovered by a number of viewers, Tatsu’s tattoo has been completely removed from the series’ regional Netflix release within the country.

One user asserted that, rather than looking intimidating due to the visual indication of his Yakuza membership, Tatsu now simply looked like “an old man with a scary look.”

Tattoos have been banned from Chinese television since 2018, when the CCP began prohibiting “actors with tattoos [or depict] hip hop culture, sub-culture (non-mainstream culture) and dispirited culture (decadent culture)” from appearing on-screen following various controversies (by the standards of the country’s government) involving numerous Chinese hip-hop artists.

“Absolutely do not use actors whose heart and morality are not aligned with the party and whose morality is not noble,” declared the CCP in the wake of the controversies. “Absolutely do not use actors who are tasteless, vulgar and obscene. Absolutely do not use actors whose ideological level is low and have no class. Absolutely do not use actors with stains, scandals and problematic moral integrity.”

All in the name of promoting the party’s “core socialist values.”

What do you make of Gokushufudou The Way of the Househusband’s Chinese censorship? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!