"Ainu women traditionally had a dark border tattooed around their lips as a sign of their adulthood and beauty. Tattooing of a girl's lips, hands, and arms began in childhood and was completed by the age of fifteen or sixteen, signaling her eligibility for marriage." Pictured here are Tosa Monno (1903-1986), left, and Kaneto Kawamura (1893-1977).

From: MSN Encarta, http://encarta.msn.com. 29 July 2005.