Gutsu and the Crow- A Japanese Folktale

Long, long ago, a boy named Gutsu lived in a village with his grandmother. One day, his grandma said, "Gutsu, as today is your late grandfather's death day, we must summon a priest to chant the sutras in his honor. Won't you run along to the neighboring village to ask for the priest there?" "What's a priest?" inquired the little boy, for Gutsu's village did not have a temple. "He's a man who wears a black kimono." "I got it," replied Gutsu. Heading through the rice fields, Gutsu came upon a large crow perched atop a scarecrow- and crows, as everyone knows, are black. "There he is!", exclaimed Gutsu. "Hey you, Mister Monk, hey, come with me," he shouted. The crow, startled, took wing and flew off.  "Where are you going?", Gutsu cried. Running after the crow, the boy soon found himself outside a temple. "Mr. Priest, I know you're in there. Hurry up and come out," whereupon Gutsu found himself face to face with the real thing. "I'm the priest. What do you want?"  "So priests are human," thought Gutsu. Haltingly the boy explained his errand, and the priest accompanied him home. The old woman, who rarely found cause to praise her grandson, did so that day: "Well done, Gutsu. Good boy."

Tattoos and Onsen

This poorly written and researched article on tattoos exemplifies the low editorial standards at Japan Today. If you read through to the end and felt no more informed than at the beginning, the answer to 'Can onsen, swimming pools, sports clubs, and similar facilities bar those with tattoos?' is "It depends".

Public facilities may not bar tattooed patrons. Full stop.

Private facilities may do so at their discretion.