The start of the shunga exhibition in Tokyo, the first major public event of historical erotic prints, has, not surprisingly, tested the boundaries of what is legally permitted and what is "morally" acceptable.
While the September issue of venerable art magazine Bijutsu Techo featured shunga, as well as a dialogue between two women who really know about sex and censorship ("vagina artist" Rokudenashiko/Megumi Igarashi and former porn star turned manga-ka Nayuka Mine), not to mention some mildly sexy Edo-era-inspired photos of Mitsu Dan by Mika Ninagawa, it stopped short of printing the ...
Cross-dressing in Japan is different to cross-dressing in other countries.
The rise of the otoko no ko cross-dressing male cosplayer, who may or may not be attracted to other men, has created a great broadening of acceptance of dressing up and gender-bending.
Bibi Lab, who specialize in making some wacky clothes and other household items, are latching onto this boom with the Boku Sera ("I am Sailor") Male Sailor School Uniform.
It's not just a Japanese schoolgirl sailor costume -- but one for guys. It's make of fleece, so it's actually warm in the winter.
Plus it's designed to ...
Chara Tea may well be the strangest beverage you never drink -- because it seems to be a parody or extreme fantasy.
The Chara Tea Bishojo T-bag ("beautiful young girl tea bag") is meant to be a "product born out of the pure feeling of wanting to drink the juice of a beautiful young girl". Huh?
Even Tama Toys don't go this far!
It's being proposed by muku corporation, a Niigata-based whose regular wares seem much more mundane.
What is this "juice"? The Japanese is oshiru or otsuyu but the word usually carries only an innocent meaning related to food liquid. Of course, here it's ...
It seems whenever the western media wants something saucy, they make an article or video about Japanese hostesses.
Vice did a 24-hours-in-the-life-of video of a "high-class hostess" last year.
Now the BBC has jumped in with this interview with a Kabukicho hostess.
As a hostess at a club in Shinjuku Kabuki-cho, Emiri Aizawa, 27, pours drinks, lights cigarettes and listens to men.
"My main job is let them have fun," she says.
"Of course, there have been customers who asked for more, because we are men and women, but I politely say, 'No.' "I don't think you can do this job ...
What could be more of a dream-come-true for a horny college student than a chance to meet a real porn star?
Well, Gifu University seemed to be offering just that.
The ubiquitous Japanese adult film star Mana Sakura was scheduled to appear at Gifu University School of Medicine festival on October 31st. There was to be "free talk" with Mana, followed by a two-shot and then a "kiss endurance" session -- where Mana would snuggle up to you and be all over you, but you aren't allowed to respond with a kiss.
And the theme of her talk? "Sex that girls really want." A subject close to our ...
Dekopin Bijo: flicking the forehead of a hot girl.
While that may not be top of the list of priorities for most people, it's a big enough "thing" in Japan for it to have its own website.
There are a choice of four cuties to choose from.
Which lady do you want to attack on their forehead?
You can tap them on the forehead with your cursor and they will respond, visually and vocally.
What is this for? And who has made it?
We have no idea. All we know is that Dekopin Bijo launched on October 9th. What happens next is anyone's guess. Maybe it will inspire a whole movement ...
Rie Miyazawa's photo book Santa Fe came out in 1991, making the hair nude photo-book genre very famous. Santa Fe was a huge hit for Rie Miyazawa and photographer Kishin Shinoyama.
It then became popular for young stars to announce their maturity through hair nude shoots -- plus a way to relaunch their career, as Miyazawa very successfully did.
Compared to other "hair nude" photo books, though, Sante Fe is relatively tame. You only get a glimpse of Rie's bush. (Compare it, say, to Saki Takaoka's hair nude shoot.)
In a curious detail that has only been revealed recently, Miyazawa ...
Every year lots of wacky and sometimes awesome tech gets showcased at CEATEC, the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies, at Makuhari Messe.
This year we had laundry-folding robots, among other projects.
ROHM Semiconductor and Techmac presented the Tokimeki Sensor, which can apparently identify the exact moment someone falls in love.
Optical sensors are able to pinpoint the way you respond to someone to show that moment when you apparently change inside and think, THIS is the one for me.
Well, that sounds more like it means the spark of attraction than anything, but ...
Let this be a warning to all aspiring adult entrepreneurs out there.
The manager of an Osaka restaurant has been arrested for making and selling pornographic DVDs from an apartment.
Shoji Matsumoto (46) sold 46 DVDs to a Saitama man in his forties for ¥7,000 ($58) in July. Matsumoto started a website to sell his DVDs, as well as renting a nearby apartment, where he stored around 70,000 types of adult videos!
When he got an order, he would press the video into DVD format and send it to the customer.
Matsumoto sold each DVD for ¥200, offering two free films if you spent over ...
da fuck, a project by French musician Marc Durand, has created an album featuring only sounds taken from the porn catalogue of AV star Mihane Yuuki (aka Mihane Yuki).
Literally "not one external sound" was used for the album 美羽ゆうきに、僕のすべての愛敬。 (All my love for Mihane Yuuki.).
Actually, it's not what you think. If you're expecting just screaming girls and squirting sounds, think again. It's much more, well, melodic and interesting than that. It's actually quite thought-provoking to listen to, since you try to imagine what the original context was for ...
