Pornography in Japan

In Japan, pornography has unique characteristics that readily distinguish it from western pornography. Pornographic films are known as "adult videos" in Japan, so Japanese adult videos refers to the Japanese Adult Video industry. Animated films are referred to as hentai in English, but in Japan the terms "adult anime" and "erotic animation" are used. In addition to pornographic videos and magazines featuring live actors, there are now categories of pornographic manga and anime, and pornographic computer games.
Reflecting Japan's views on sexuality and culture, Japanese pornography delves into a wide spectrum of heterosexual, homosexual, and transgender sexual acts in addition to unique fetishes and paraphilias. Starting with erotic stories and wood block prints from before the 20th century, Japanese pornography evolved into distinct subcategories. Partly under attempts to circumvent Japanese laws regarding censorship, but also to cater to particular fetishes, actors and producers often feature subject matter that in western pornography had historically been unseen or rarely depicted, and even now is less frequently featured; bukkake, gokkun, omorashi, and tentacle erotica are a few uniquely Japanese genres of erotica. Lolicon, shotacon, and their contribution to the controversy regarding the regulation of cartoon pornography depicting minors has been a major issue concerning child protection, free speech, and public morality both inside and outside Japan.
The Penal Code of Japan from the early 20th century has provisions against indecent material, so any lawfully produced pornography must censor the genitals of actors and actresses; this type of censorship also extends to the graphics of hentai manga, video games, and anime. Up until the mid-1990s, any depiction of pubic hair was also censored. Anuses are only censored at contact or penetration.

History

Before the 20th century

or pornographic wood-block pictures were printed with all imaginable situations. The actual uses of shunga in the period are still debated, but probably resembled modern uses of pornographic materials, including masturbation and shared viewing with a lover. Several notable woodblock artists to produce this and their creations were Hokusai's The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, Lesbian and Two Lovers as well as Kitagawa Utamaro's Client Lubricating a Prostitute. One of the most well-known collection of Shunga can be seen in Kunisada's 1850 work A Bedside Guide to the Colours of Love in Spring.
After the Meiji Restoration in the second half of the 19th century, the publication of pornographic materials declined under government pressure.

In the 20th century

In the late Taishō era and early Shōwa era, an artistic movement called Eroguronansensu, literally "erotic-grotesque-nonsense", occurred influenced by decadent works of Europe. Open sexual expressions were permitted in novels and manga but a strict control was applied on photographs and films. After World War II, the law against 'obscenity', Article 175, was the only official censorship law that remained in force. During the Allied occupation of Japan, which lasted until 1952, all forms of sexually explicit material were prohibited in the country. American forces occupying Japan imposed Western ideas of morality and law. The Japanese public slowly came to adopt some of these ideas and practices. Negative views about pornography that were foreign to Japanese culture were accepted and applied to visual depictions as they were the ones most likely recognized and thereby criticized by Westerners. As a result, once the occupation forces left, the Japanese government kept the ban on sexually explicit material in place until the late 1980s; images or depictions of frontal nudity were banned, as well as pictures of pubic hair or genitals. No sex act could be depicted graphically. Sex work was outlawed in Japan in 1958.
Influenced by magazines such as Playboy, pornographic magazines were printed soon after World War II. Playboys articles being about American lifestyle, women being mostly non-Asian, interviews being with people largely unknown in Japan, and fashion and sport being American spawned a fashion for a genre known as yōmono.
In the early 1960s, several movie studios began producing "pink films". With censorship laws prohibiting genitals from being seen but otherwise free to express anything, these movies quickly diversified to cover all genres, including rape and bondage. Throughout the 1960s, the "pink films" were mainly produced by low-budget, independent filmmakers such as Kōji Wakamatsu. In 1971, the major studio Nikkatsu entered the pink film genre. Starting in 1971, homosexually-oriented magazines began to appear, including Barazoku. Homosexual magazines tend to feature particular body types, such as Badi, Samson, and G-men,.
The 1976 Japanese love film In the Realm of the Senses by Nagisa Ōshima was banned from Japan due to its nudity and erotic content. Despite quickly becoming a sensation at film festivals in New York and Cannes, in October 1976 the film was seized by Japanese authorities. While the film was based on a true story well known in Japan, its content, involving the vivid depiction of erotic asphyxiation, was considered too obscene for public viewing. The producer and script writer for the film were taken to court and charged with obscenity but were found not guilty. Frontal nudity was not permitted to appear on film in Japan until 1986.

1980s

The proliferation of pornographic videos in the 1980s commonly called A/V arose as most Japanese families now had at least two television sets and VCRs. It is rumored, but not substantiated, that the VHS format vanquished Betamax because large numbers of A/V were released in VHS format. Few A/Vs were sold in laserdisc format. Playing games on personal computers with no limitation on content except for censorship laws was sometimes viewed as being synonymous with playing bishōjo games, because so few Japanese people saw any reason to play video games on these platforms, as opposed to video game consoles.
In the late 1980s, the dōjinshi market expanded. It is estimated that about half of this market consists of pornography. Copyright problems plague the market, yet the dōjinshi market was a common place for creators to start before making a debut in a professional magazine. Yaoi began in the dōjinshi market.

1990s

According to John Carr, a United Kingdom government adviser on Internet safety policy for children, two-thirds of all pedophilic images on the Internet in the late 1990s may have originated in Japan. Since the law against child pornography in 1999, the proportion is now believed to be less than 2%. ECPAT believes that many child pornography producers have simply turned to producing anime or films featuring adults dressed as children.

21st century

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, global viewership for Japanese pornography rose significantly as more people were forced to stay home. The sale of videos, sex toys, and even subtitles rose significantly in sales during this period. At the same time, the use of virtual reality headsets has shot up during this period, mainly due to the increase in available content and faster internet speeds.
With the Japanese pornography industry growing, increasing numbers of women in the country have become victims of sexual exploitation. Many were tricked into believing they were signing up for "modelling contracts", only to be coerced into becoming pornographic actresses. These continued occurrences have led to calls for greater regulation.
In September 2022, one of the largest Japanese adult video distribution websites, R18.com, announced that they would be closing down permanently on 31 January 2023 due to billing issues. The company's Japanese website, DMM.com, will still remain operational, although international payments have been restricted. In June 2022, the Japanese government passed a bill that aims to protect the rights of actors and actresses coerced into the pornography industry. The new set of laws gives people who have agreed to appear in pornographic films the right to terminate their contract at any time prior to and up to one year after the public release of their films without condition. The bill also states that a one-month period must pass between contract-signing and filming, and a four-month period must pass between filming and public release of the film, in order to give actors and actresses time to reconsider their decision. Additionally, the bill highlights a greater need for transparency around the types of sexual acts involved in a film by requiring producers to provide a written explanation of the nature of the content and details of sexual acts involved. Misrepresentation or intimidation to prevent withdrawal of contracts is liable to up to 3 years of imprisonment or 3 million yen for individuals, or 100 million yen for corporations.

Considerations

Censorship laws

Under Article 175 of the Penal Code of Japan people who sell or distribute obscene materials can be punished by fines or imprisonment. Article 175 was included in the original document in 1907 and remains relatively unchanged. Showing pubic hair and adult genitalia was once considered obscene.
Maebari is a Japanese slang term used in the pornography industry to mean "hiding the pubic hair". Initially this was done by sticking adhesive tape over the crotch, and the term maebari was used for this tape. This technique allowed the film makers to conform with Japanese censorship requirements and avoid the risk of expensive re-shooting. In Japanese pink films these maebari evolved into self-adhesive bandage-like coverings that were discarded after use. They were often skin-coloured and triangular. Once the removal of pubic hair by shaving became popular, maebari fell out of use.
Video pornography routinely depicts explicit sex scenes with the participants' genitalia obscured by pixelization. The amount of censorship of the penis can vary. The publication of Waterfruit and Santa Fe by Kishin Shinoyama was likely the first publication that featured pubic hair. Many video production companies belong to ethical associations which provide guidance on what is acceptable and what is not. The Nihon Ethics of Video Association, the Ethics Organization of Computer Software and the are three examples of such organizations.