Adult video in Japan
In Japan, lead=yes are sex or nudity themed videos distinguishable from Toei porno feature films, Nikkatsu Roman Porno feature films, indie studio pink films, and less sex-centred 'V-cinema' or other Original Videos. Adult videos feature sex or nudity, and may not in some cases have a storyline. They are released initially on video, and pass inspection by an adult video ethics committee originally the Nihon Ethics of Video Association, which enforced the placement of video-masking mosaics over pubic hair or genitalia. Toei Porno, Nikkatsu Roman Porno and pink films are also often concerned with sex, but they are shown first in movie theatres, and are rated by Eirin, rather than an adult video ethics organization. The mainstream studio Nikkatsu filmed its Roman Porno line from 1971 through 1988. V-cinema or OV also tend to have a story, but sex if present is less central, and they were released directly to VHS or recently DVD, Blu-Ray or streaming without being first shown in a movie theatre. Many V-cinema works are produced by video-focused subsidiaries of the big film studios, e.g. SHV Cinema for Shochiku. OV can be rated by the Eirin or Eizourin depending on the content.
History
1960s
was a director for the major studio Nikkatsu. His films tended towards film noir or yakuza themes, but did include sexploitation elements such as nudity or encounters with brothels or prostitutes. The 1962 OP Eiga release Flesh Market though is usually regarded as the start of the sexploitation trend, and later came to be regarded as the first pink film. Small independent studios such as OP Eiga and Shintoho started churning out sexploitation films at a frenetic pace. The star of Flesh Market actress Tamaki Katori for instance appeared in over 600 films between 1962 and 1972. Toei also produced erotic films starting with Sadao Nakajima's Kunoichi ninpō in 1964, and continuing with films by Teruo Ishii in the late 1960's. Major studio Shochiku also ventured the occasional sexploitation film eg. Daydream or Woman of the Lake 1966 about a married woman who allows a man to take nude pictures of her.1970
spun off it subsidiary Toei Video, even though videotape cameras, recorders and players were mainly used by television networks at the time, not in people's homes.1971
released its first U-matic video cassette recorders, moving from reel to reel to a cassette format. U-matics were also used mainly by tv networks.Toei included the English loanword 'porno' on a poster for the first time. Takashi Itamochi, president of Nikkatsu, Japan's oldest major film studio, made the decision to put the company's high production values and professional talent into the adult industry as a way of attracting a new audience. When Nikkatsu launched its Roman Porno series in November 1971 with the Apartment Wife series, these softcore erotic films proved popular with both the public and the critics. This introduction of erotica into mainstream Japanese movie theaters has been credited with saving Nikkatsu from collapse at that time. Nikkatsu mainly offered 'Roman Porno' films for the next 17 years, releasing an average of three such films a month.
Independent studios such as Shintōhō Eiga and Million Films were already producing what now became known as 'pink film', but Nikkatsu remained the dominant producer of high-production theatrical pornography in Japan. By the end of the 1970s, Nikkatsu's 'Roman Porno' together with 'pink films' by other studios made up over 70% of the domestic Japanese film market.
1972
The big three video makers of the time Nikkatsu, Toei Video and Nihon Bikotte band together to create an organization to monitor the ethics of adult videos, the Adult Video Independent Ethics Regulatory Cooperative.1975
releases its first Betamax video cassette recorder. It was cheaper than the U-matic, and opened up the possibilities for people to buy them for home use.1976
releases its first VHS video cassette recorder. For a number of years after, there was a format war between VHS and betamax for the consumer market with VHS eventually winning out.1977
The ethics organization is renamed the Nihon Ethics of Video Association, and affixes its NEVA stamp to approved videos. NEVA requires makers to put in large checkered mosaics over pubic hair and genitals.1980
Binibon magazine publisher Kuki Inc. released its first adult video. Binibon were magazines with photos of beautiful idols in underwear sealed in plastic.Ownership of VCRs starts to spread more widely. Adult videos provided privacy and comfort that the older, established theatrical pink films could not. Also, Patrick Macias points out that adult videos were better able to focus on niche-interests, and provided the convenience of the fast-forward button.
1981
After starring in Japan's first theatrically released hardcore film, director Tetsuji Takechi's Daydream, Kyoko Aizome made her AV debut in November 1981, making her one of Japan's earliest AV idols. Cosmos Plan was founded in October, and later changed its name to Media Station. Samm Video was founded to produce S&M videos, and later changed its name to h.m.p.. In December, Tadashi Yoyogi founded Athena Eizou.1982
Adult videos attained an approximately equal share of the adult entertainment market with theatrical erotic films. Faced with this new competition over the adult entertainment audience, Nikkatsu focused on production of its S&M films, which had been their most popular product.Japan's video rental stores increasingly adopt a policy of only stocking videos with the NEVA stamp of approval, leading more and more studios to join NEVA.
The early adult video, Ken-chan, the Laundry Man, became a hit in Japan in 1982, selling over 200,000 copies, an unprecedented number for an adult video. The popularity of this VHS-format video has been said to have increased the sales of video recorders at this time. The popularity of this early video led to its release in the United States by the Orchid International company in 1984.
Early AV performers were often struggling actresses who could not find work in the theatrical Roman Porno films and girls from the soaplands. 1982 saw the debut of one of the earliest prominent AV actresses, Kate Asabuki, whose name would appear on the titles of both AVs and theatrical films. She would go on to serve as a co-host of the weekly television show Tokyo Rock TV.
1983
Satomi Shinozaki, who debuted on AV in 1983, had a career in theatrical films for another 20 years, directing a film in 2001. Another 1983 debut, Kyōko Hashimoto, would graduate from AVs to a successful theatrical film career, appearing in over 100 films, including Kei Mizutani's breakthrough film ''Weather Woman''1984
The Crystal-Eizou studio was founded. Director Toru Muranishi joined soon after, and began developing a quasi-documentary approach to filming AV.Yumiko Kumashiro, who debuted in 1984, later starred in a series of theatrical films for Nikkatsu under her stage-name, Eve. She went on to a successful career as a striptease dancer, and starred in films for the Shintōhō Eiga studio in the 1990s.
Also during this year, Wonder Kids studio released the first completely pornographic animated film, Lolita Anime. It was an immediate success and Nikkatsu quickly jumped on the trend and released their own direct-to-video animated porno under the same title with recognizably similar characters.
New government policies and an agreement between Eirin and the pink film companies put drastic new restrictions on theatrical films. Theatrical pink film profits dropped 36% within a month of the new ruling.
1985
was an early AV actress to capitalize on her large bust, a metric E-cup. Though she had made underground tapes previously, her official AV debut was in September 1985. She appeared in AVs, magazines and theatrical films such as Shintōhō Eiga's 1986 Eri Kikuchi - Big Breasts. In 2003 she was a lecturer/demonstrator for classes at the AV Cultures School, a school for aspiring AV directors, and in 2007, 23 years after her AV Debut, she was still releasing AVs.Nikkatsu tried to tempt audiences back to adult theaters with higher-caliber pink films, beginning with the Flower and Snake series, based on its 1974 Roman Porno S/M hit Flower and Snake, starring Naomi Tani.
Nikkatsu tried to circumvent the new theatrical rules and to compete directly with adult videos by entering their own turf. To launch the company's new "Harder Than Pink" AV series, Nikkatsu wanted Masaru Konuma, director of the highly popular and critically praised 1974 Roman Porno Wife to be Sacrificed, to make a hard-core version of his script Woman in the Box in 1985. Konuma was at first reluctant, but Nikkatsu was able to persuade him to make the video by agreeing to allow Konuma to direct his original version of this script for theatrical release the following year. However, Nikkatsu soon ceased production of this video series when it proved unsuccessful with the public.
1986
was established on April 4, 1986, as the adult video label for V-cinema maker Japan Home Video.Hitomi Kobayashi's career in the AV field would last for over a decade and a half, earning her the title "Japan's Queen of Adult Video." Her 39 AVs sold over 600,000 copies, earning about 6 billion yen. According to the adult entertainment editor for Shukan Shincho, "She laid the foundations for the golden age of adult video."
Kaoru Kuroki, has been called "the first high-profile AV actress." After becoming a popular star of pornographic videos, she was seen on late-night television, then on daytime talk shows and in national advertising campaigns. She became admired by women for her outspoken but polite and frank discussions of sex, and for expressing "feminist" views on television. According to Rosemary Iwamura, she changed the image of the AV actress. "...she didn't seem to be making videos because of a lack of options but rather as an informed choice." Kuroki's director at Crystal-Eizou, Toru Muranishi, became known as an industry innovator who helped create the documentary-style format which would become a trademark of Japanese AVs.
Nikkatsu hired AV queen Hitomi Kobayashi to star in her own theatrical film series in 1987, but these films were judged as little more than AVs on film, and were not popular.