A Maori woman in Japan was lately denied from entering to a public bath. The reason was, reportedly, nothing, but her ta moko facial tattoo.

The woman, 60, is a lecturer in Maori language. She was none else, but Erana Brewerton, late Dame Katerina Mataira's daughter. She was in the town of Biratori at the time so as to attend a conference on aboriginal languages.

According to the report, the woman had come in a group of 10 people. They were all refused entrance to the baths for Brewerton had ta moko. The facility said that they did not allow any single person with such tattoos. Since, customers' ease and satisfaction was their first priority.

It was after outrage shown by a member of the cohort that the facility came up with such an explanation for the refusal. The member had claimed that the decision to refuse them to enter the bath was discriminatory.

"Though the tattoo is traditional, a typical person cannot judge the context behind the tattoos", explicated an official at the facility.

The report said that often, the tattoo prohibition in public facilities was used to avert entry by the organized crime groups' members of the nation. Many of them had had tattoos.