also: ぼくけい
tattooing as punishment in ancient China
Historical term referring to one of the Five Punishments (五刑) in ancient China, where criminals were tattooed on the face or body as a permanent mark of their crime.
See also: 五刑
In ancient China, tattooing as punishment was carried out as one of the Five Punishments.
Standard kanji form; the reading ぼっけい is more common than ぼくけい.
Alternate reading; ぼっけい is preferred.
From Chinese 墨刑 (mòxíng), literally 'ink punishment'. The Japanese reading is on'yomi.