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Title:
Gay Erotic Art in Japan Vol. 1: Artists From the
Time of the Birth of Gay Magazines
Compiled by Tagame Gengoroh
Notice: This book with English text translation.
［Release date: December 19th,2003 On Sale］
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Price (provisional): 4,500 yen (tax out)
ISBN 4-939015-58-0 C0071
Size: A5, 194 pages
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Look inside this book:
■A history of gay erotic art in Japan
（Tagame Gengoroh）
●Translator
Kitajima Yuji
Kitajima Yuji (born in 1968) is a gay writer and a translator.He
has devoted himself to cross-cultural communication,which is now
his life-work, being aware of himself as gay,as Japanese, as a man, and
as a man who is
both gay and Asian.He has been a regular contributor to gay magazines,
including "G-men" (G-project), since 2002. At present, he is
studying anthropology and Eastern philosophy in his quest to better
understand humanity and what makes us tick.
http://www.kitajimayuji.com
The story of contemporary gay erotic art in Japan can start withthe
magazine, "Fuzokukitan" （1960-1974）. "Fuzokukitan" was
a magazine that included all sorts of kinks, both male and female: S&M,
fetishism, homosexuality, lesbianism, and transvestism. In short, it was
for abnormal sexualities. （Note 1） "Kitan Club" （1952-1972）,
another slightly older magazine, of those for a similar audience, was the
one which released Numa Shozo and Dan Kiroku, and was better known to the
general public. However, "Fuzokukitan" was more important to the
history of gay erotic art and gay culture.
According to some men who remember those days, "Fuzokukitan" had
more articles related to homosexuals than other magazines such as "Kitan
Club," "Uramado," and "Fuzokusoshi." Indeed, "Fuzokukitan" differed
from the others with regard to its cover art for the start. While the cover
of the other magazines only remind the viewer of S&M play by heterosexuals, "Fuzokukitan" used
male nude art on the cover three times a year, one out of four issues, from
1962 to 1964. Even in the issues with an image of women on the cover, the
catch copy featured gay related articles such as, "Sexual Desire: Pictures
of Sodomy and Lesbos （October 1961）," and "The Country of Sodom," and "Graphic:
The World of Sadism, Masochism and Homosexuals, （special extended issue,
August 1963）." This suggests that the magazine gave a high priority
to gay related articles. （Note 2） Now, let's look at the contents of the
August 1962 issue. On the cover are two cowboys. One, a naked young man,
is standing closer to us, and the other man, standing behind him, is making
eye contact with him. If the viewer is gay, he will instantly get a sense
of physical attraction basic to the construction of the picture. Though there
is no credit to the artist, this piece is by the gay erotic artist, George
Quaintance, who was then an active contributor to an American "physique" magazines.
（Note 3） The frontispiece is four male nude pieces by Tom of Finland, who
was also a "physique" magazine artist. The illustrations on the
index page are similar. Then, there are sixteen gravure pages, and five out
of the sixteen are of male nudes. Eleven pages of heterosexual frontispieces
follow, then five pages of transvestites, and after the body in the middle
section of the magazine, are eight pages of gay frontispieces. There are
two gay articles out of six featured articles on "Cruel Stories of The
War Front." Of those seven essays and memorandums, three are gay and
one is transvestite themed. One of the two serial novels has a gay theme,
and there is a gay column and a transvestite column. What's more, thirty
seven out of fifty people with ads in the personal section are gay, more
than half. As shown above, at least in this issue, over half of the contents
are related to gay issues. In the three-year period mentioned above ［1962-1964
-K.Y.］, although there was some change in volume, the magazine kept featuring
gay articles.
According to the summary index edited by "Fuzoku-shiryokan" ［a
members only library of abnormal sexuality books in Tokyo, -K.Y.］, among
the artists featured in this book, OKAWA Tatsuji and FUNAYAMA Sanshi appeared
in publications for the first time in "Fuzokukitan" in 1963 and
Mishima Go and Hirano Go in 1964. （Note 4）
ODA Toshimi, whose work first appeared much earlier than the four mentioned
above, started contributing illustrations and other work to the magazine
when it was just established. I highly evaluate Oda for his work not as a
solo artist but for the work he did with the gay novelist, Adachi Eikichi
（Also known as Aki Teppei, Kan Ryota, etc.） which many gays still remember.
Adachi's famous serial novel "Chu-Chin-Chow" was featured in 1962,
which was in the three-year period being discussed. Behind these significant
movements, seems to have been the novelist, Mamiya Hiroshi, who later became
a contributor to "Barazoku." Mamiya seems to have had an editorial
role of the gay pages of "Fuzokukitan" He also contributed to the
magazine with his novels, essays, and poems. （Note 5）
Now, let me put Oda aside for a while and focus on the other four artists.
The rate of the issues with their work in the magazine increased to five
issues in 1963 and eight in 1964. However, there were only two in 1965, the
year in which there was no issue with a male nude on the cover. There were
three issues with their work in 1966 and two in 1967. In 1968, all the gay
artists disappeared except Okawa, and Okawa's last contribution to "Fuzokukitan" was
in 1969. （Note 6）
At the same time, in the 1960s in Japan, there was a medium, which
can be called "the root of gay magazines." It was a member's only
small circulation magazine "Bara, "（Note 7） It was established
in 1964. It happened to be at this time that the four artists most frequently
contributed to "Fuzokukitan" In my research, three among the artists
covered in this book, Mishima, Funayama,and Adachi, also contributed to "Bara." Considering
this, together with the fact that male nude disappeared from the magazine
cover in the following year and the number of gay articles decreased, it
can be suggested that many readers as wellas artists and contributors switched
to "Bara" from "Fuzokukitan," In 1971, the very first
gay commercial magazine "Barazoku" was established. Encouraged
by the success of "Barazoku," "Sabu" and "Adon" were
established in 1974, and at last gay erotic art in Japan finally started
moving forward.
Before I start discussing gay erotic art after the establishment of
these gay magazines, let's go backwards and think about it before the days
of "Fuzokukitan." Was there any culture in Japan that can be considered
as gay erotic art before 1960?
There has always been the custom of sodomy from the ancient days in
Japan, and, of course, there were pictures whose motifs were sodomy. The
picture scroll, "Chigo-soshi （Catamite Stories）" from the Muromachi
era ［1336-1573 -K.Y.］ and "Shunga"［erotic Ukiyoe -K.Y.］ featuring
images of sodomy by Hishikawa Moronobu or Miyagawa Choshun from the Edo era
［1603-1867 -K.Y.］, are well known. Without doubt, they are pictures of intercourse
between men; they look like gay erotic art. However, is that really true?
Here, the question is whether the Japanese sodomic culture ─sodomy in Buddhist
monasteries or the custom of adoring pages in samurai society, and pederasty,
which was popular in Edo era─ is equal to homosexuality in the present. As
I understand, the matter pederasty is constructed as "a custom which
does not deny it," or "support from spiritualist-like beauty," and "an
idea of substitution." Therefore, it is a choice something people select
out of many other options. On the other hand, homosexuality is an "absolute
sexuality which is immanent in an individual," and it is something the
person can choose based on custom or beauty, or be forced to have. It is
often misunderstood by heterosexual people that being gay is something a
person can choose to be, or is merely a way of life; it is actually a part
of the person and is unchangeable. The word "gay" is a word to
describe the group of people who share a preference for people of the same
sex as sexual practices, it is not a word to regulate the specific types
of sexual practices or relationship. （Note 8） So, pederasty, as we have seen,
does regulate the type and the style of the relationship up to a certain
point. From a linguistic point of view, these two words cannot be considered
identical. （Note 9） Another question is, whether it is acceptable to consider
pictures as gay erotic art simply if intercourse between men is illustrated
in them. If so, male "Shunga" ukiyoe from Edo era and "Yaoi" ［depicting
the recent females interested in gay sex, beautiful gay boys, etc -K.Y.］
art, "shota for men" ［depicting males interested in very young
boys, -K.Y.］ art all would be considered gay erotic art. However, while "gay" is
a word which refers to sexuality, "Yaoi," "June ［the same
meaning as "Yaoi" -K.Y.］," "Boys Love ［again, the same
meaning as "Yaoi" -K.Y.］," and "Shota for men" refer
to artistic and sexual genres, not any specific sexuality. （Note 10）
Sexuality and these words don't have clear boundaries, they intercross
with each other, making a vague and gradated area. Therefore, of course,
there must have been some gays in the people who constructed the sodomy in
Edo era, or the current "Yaoi" and "Shota." This only
means that it is possible for gay erotic art to exist in those genres, and
it is still impossible for the word "gay" to cover all those genres.
Therefore, even when an erotic art piece is illustrating gay images, if it
is a product of the genre in which being gay as the subject is not required,
we shouldn't call it gay culture or gay erotic art.
This term, "gay erotic art" does have some problems. One is the
premise that the artist is gay himself; it is sometimes rather too dependent
on this premise. For example, even when the motif of the pieces is pinup-like
male nudes, and not sexual intercourse, it is considered to be gay erotic
art just because "the artist is gay," and therefore, this is a
picture of his type of men." If we remove this premise, it is no longer
a gay drawing or anything special but merely a picture of naked men. This
is because there is no gay phenomenon or relationship such as intercourse
between men or love between men.
There have been examples of pieces by heterosexual male, or female
artists being featured in gay magazines and becoming popular with gay readers.
So, there are some cases in which the pieces function and serve as gay erotic
art regardless of the artists' own sexuality. This is contradicts the theory
mentioned above. In order to discuss gay erotic art, instead of adhering
to pieces by gay artists or pieces that illustrate gay situations, we should
consider whether the pieces are produced for gay viewers, together with the
influences such art may have in actual gay culture.
For the reasons given above, I have used the word "otoko-e （male pictures）" instead
of "gay erotic art" when discussing art in gay magazines. I did
this to try to put aside the issues of the artists' sexuality and sexual
differences by defining "otoko-e" as "pictures illustrating
the charms of men." Since the premise is that those magazines are for
gay men, the logic is this: "Because both the subject in the image and
the viewer are male, when the viewer finds the man in the image attractive,
regardless of the artist's sexuality or sexual difference, a gay relationship
is formed between the subject and the viewer."This logic can exist only
under the circumstances that the viewer is gay. The word "Otoko-e" is
sometimes used in Japanese art history to mean a picture scroll, in contrast
with "onna-e （female pictures.）" To cancel the logic I just gave,
and in order to avoid possible confusion, this word is not used in this book.
Regardless of the language used, the basic theory is the same. At the
base of gay erotic art, as well as in its expressions of gay eroticism, the
point is, it illustrates the beauty of men or the sexual charms of men according
to the artist's perceptions and skills. （Note 11）
If we consider the ukiyoe "danshoku-shunga （male erotic art）" as
the root of the present gay erotic art, it can be said that the unisexual
expression of men by ukiyoe artist, Suzuki Harunobu and others influenced
the current liking for beautiful boys. This influence can be seen in the
pieces by Takahata Kasho and others. This influence on gay erotic art and
its preference for beautiful boys and young men is introduced in this book
by artists such as Okawa Tatsuji.
If that is the case, what about Funayama Sanshi or Mishima Go's gay
erotic art depicting of a liking for rough men? Since the interest is on
macho types, there are no common pictorial factors with pederastic "shunga." However,
they have some common factors with ukiyoe by Katsushika Hokusai or Utagawa
Kuniyoshi's "musha-e" ［worriors' pictures -K.Y.］in expressing macho
color, by exaggerating muscles, and, by illustrating thick body hair. Their
work also has some similarities with the cruel pictures of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
（Note 12） This genealogy flows into the illustration culture of Ito Hikozo
and others. As in the art of Takahata Kasho. Their art was around when the
artists featured in this book were in childhood or puberty. One basic assumption
is that these artists were influenced by the illustration culture like this
while they were discovering their own sexualities, and were stimulated by
it. It may be possible to see one stream that flows from ukiyoe to them.
After experiencing the short lived magazines that were published in the post
World War II years, these artists, featured in this book, finally had some
publication that dealt with S&M or homosexuality and targeted the sexual
minority of the readers; for the first time they had a place to have their
work published. When gay erotic art is told from a gay cultural and historical
point of view, it may be appropriate to consider that the time a medium such
as "Fuzokukitan," where gays could introduce their pieces expressing
their own sexuality, was born as the time gay erotic art was really born
for the first time.
Let's go back to the subject and quickly consider how gay erotic art
in Japan changed after the birth of gay magazines. Three of the artists included
in this book, Mishima, Okawa, and Hirano, moved their center of activities
to "Barazoku" from "Fuzokukitan," and Mishima later became
one of the leading participants of another magazine, "Sabu" when
it was established. These four, of course, are not the only artists at the
time the gay magazines were born. Ishihara Gojin from "Sabu," had
outstanding skills, and a wide range of work ─from children books to comics,
S&M, and gay magazines. He also drew mysterious and slim beautiful young
men, as did Hayashi Gekko. Toyama Minoru, who also had excellent skills,
drew young men with a mysterious look and a mature body in both "Sabu" and "Barazoku. " Tsukioka
Gen who kept drawing young men with sorrowful faces in a wide range of styles
─from Japanese to European─ for "Barazoku." And there were many
more.
Let's consider up to this time as the first generation. The over all
common factors are that the men they drew generally have a sorrowful look
and a dark side, which may look rather sentimental; images of men with cheerful
smiles and without worries cannot be found. The motifs are often the darkly
spiritual male beauty based the traditional homo-social world in Japan, such
as "samurai" or Japanese gangsters. Influences from Western gay
culture are rarely seen. Although this chapter is about the history of drawings,
so I won't go any deeper with this. At the time the time around the birth
of gay magazines, some male nude picture books were published, and they too
had an important role in the history of gay erotic art in Japan. In particular,
the work of two photographers. One is Yato Tamotsu, who is known for his
personal connection with Mishima Yukio, has left three picture books, "Taido
（Body, Marshal Arts）,"Hadaka-matsuri （Naked Festivals）," and "OTOKO
（Males）."The other is Haga Kuro, who published many picture books
under the name "Bon. " These artists are most important and should
be highly evaluated for both the quality of their work and the influence
they had on gay erotic artists of the same generation. （Note 13）
From the 70s to the 80s, the gay magazines grew rapidly. Each magazine
produced extra issues, picture books, and photo books: "Barazoku" bore "Seinen-gaho
（Young Men's Graphic）," and "Sabu" bore "Aitsu （That
guy）,"and "Sabu" Special."They had a larger format （A5）
than the original magazines （B5） and put a higher priority on photography
and illustrations. In addition, foreign gay cultures, art, and lifestyle
that were introduced in "MLMW," ─a magazine, which developed from
another magazine, "Adon"─ were increasingly influencing the next
generation. In 1982, a new gay magazine, "Samson" was established.
In the beginning, it was a general, interest gay magazine, dealing with all
kinds of body types just as the other gay magazines did then. Later it specialized
in the limited sexualities ranged around "chubby chasers" and "Daddy
lovers." Thanks to this change, it supported gay artists who specialized
in certain fetishes, and that was something uncommon in other magazines.
（Note 14） In addition, Togo Ken established "The Gay." The cover
art was male nudes from Europe and the US, and there were not so many illustrations
in the main texts. So, there isn't much to discuss from a gay erotic art
point of view. However, I remember it for using a famous artist from the
heterosexual media for the cover art, and releasing some hardcore pornographic
picture books as extra issues.
In these circumstances, the second-generation artists emerged.I would
select three artists as representatives of that generation. First is Takeuchi
George, who drew illustrations greatly influenced by the general commercial
illustrations and fashion illustrations of the time. At the same time, he
kept working on his serial illustrations in the Tom of Finland style in "Adon," "MLMW," and
later "G-men." Second is Hasegawa Sadao, who drew wide range of
illustrations from pinups to action pictures, and torture pictures, and whose
decorative style took in European fin de siecle art, Japanese ukiyoe, and
Asian ethnic art. He published in "Barazoku," "Sabu," "Adon," "MLMW," "Samson," and
later "SM-Z." Third is Kimura Ben. Using a delicate touch, he drew
delightful men, including sporty young men who look familiar, and not beautiful
men who appear disconnected from reality. The three of them took care of
the cover art of the gay magazines for many years. For both the quality and
the quantity of their work, these three remain in gay people's hearts.
Other than these three, there are a number of other second-generation
artists. Gym was attracted to the massive and bulky look of bodybuilder-like
muscles and excelled in drawing young men with a strong smell of sweat （"Sabu"）.
Inagaki Seiji excelled in drawing detailed sketches of young boys with decorative
and esthetic looks （"Barazoku"）. Kiyohara Muneaki, who used a
several pen names, such as Minakage Ryoji, and Mitate Kozo, worked in various
genres such as illustrations, photography, and comics （"Sabu" "Barazoku" and
later "Badi"）. Takakura Daisuke drew realistic flabby bodies, and
not idealized bodies, with every single body hair in details with a pen （"Sabu," later "Samson"）.
These second-generation artists vary in type and style, therefore it
is hard to point out general characteristics. If I am to try to do so, first,
the generalized sorrow and darkness, which were noticeable in the first generation,
is fading. Together with each artist's differences in his art, this development
must be related to the different stances; the time in which gays had to deal
with some kind of guilt for being gay was disappearing, and the time in which
gays were freeing themselves from guilt was emerging. As for motifs, samurai
and gangsters decreased in number, and sportsmen increased instead. This
may suggest that the objects of gay sexual fantasies are shifting from spiritual
beauty to physical bodies as time went by. As for fetishic symbols, in addition
to traditional loincloths and tattoos, motifs such that are influenced by
European and American gay culture, such as jock straps and thin tank tops,
leather fashion decreased in number. It was also when gay magazines started
featuring comics. Yamaguchi Masaji who worked on a serial comic strip, "Gokigenyo
（How are you?）" （"Barazoku"）, which had both, romantic
elements and hardcore and pornographic elements. Kaido Jin who drew high-level
comics such as "Tough Guy," and "Make Up" that were of
extremely high quality as romantic stories as well as erotic pieces （"Adon"）.
These are the two major comic artists.
In addition to them, a number of other artists also created gay comics.
Yamakawa Junichi released many short comic strips that were very rich in
settings （"Barazoku"）. Takemoto Kotaro excelled in sentimental
love stories with a ladies' comic-like touch, and is still actively producing
（"Barazoku"）. Tadokoro Daisuke drew sentimental love stories and
cynical illustrated essays with a queeny taste （"Barazoku"）. Mitate
Kozo's work has already been discussed （"Sabu" and "Barazoku"）.
Bone Kaburagi worked on a long serial comic strip, "Kaze no Album （Album
of Winds）," shifting his style from ladies' comic-like style to serious
adult style （"Samson"）. Tomozo drew of the eroticism of older
male couples （"Samson"）. The works of these artists are memorable.
In this period, in addition to the artists mentioned above who specialized
in gay magazines, there were cases of artists contributing occasional illustrations
and comic strips to gay magazines. To name as many as I can remember: Naito
Rune, Yoshida Katsu （"Barazoku"）, Minami Shinbo, Watanabe Kazuhiro,
Yoshida Mitsuhiko, Fukuhara Hidemi, Aso Kan （"Sabu"）, Tsuchiya
Susumu, Leo Sawaki （"Adon"）, and, although the period is a little
late, Fujishiro Seiji, and Uno Akira （"The Gay"）. However, these
artists' works don't have any significance as gay erotic art, and they didn't
have any concrete influence on other gay erotic artists. One exception must
be Yoshida Mitsuhiko's comics, in which the artist's talent and the magazine's
style combined nicely in producing excellent works of erotic art. And there
is Tsuchiya Susumu's serial comic strip, in which he drew romances of salary
men with a delicate touch and gave viewers a fresh impression. Finally, Leo
Sawaki's illustrations, in which drew men's bodies with a realism touch to
produce fine works of erotic art. （Note 15）
Now let's look at the flow of gay erotic art after the second- generation
to the present. In the late 1980s and 1990, extra issues, picture books,
and large-sized magazines, all disappeared, though, the major gay magazines
all continued publishing. On the other hand, other general interest magazines
often featured articles about gay life, and art magazines started featuring
gay artists in Europe and the US. In addition, gays started trying to capture
themselves in books and magazine-type books, that is, in media other than
gay magazines and from different points of views than just sexual preference.
（Note 16）
The latter is an experiment mainly by gays influences by "MLMW," and
this kind of movement eventually lead to the essential change of gay magazines
to be discussed. In 1994, "Badi," and in 1995, "G-men" were
established. The existing gay magazines responded with manual editing, somewhat
like small circulation magazines. The two new magazines dealt with everything
that gays were surrounded by, including the gay market, gay communities,
activities and gay lifestyles. Together with this new generation gay magazines,
the circumstances of gays were in were becoming more and more active. For
example, gay pride parades, HIV- related events, and all kind of gay nights
at clubs were held. （Note 17）
Meanwhile, two of old gay magazines were discontinued, "Adon" in
1996, and "Sabu" in 2001. The number of gay erotic artists featured
in gay magazines has increased compared with the 90s, and there are more
varieties. At the same time, the media in which gay erotic art is featured
has variety beyond gay magazines. There are pamphlets and flyers for various
events, exhibitions related those events, personal galleries on the web, "Komike
［shorthand for Comic Market, a twice a year festival of small circulation
magazines and books organized by amateur artists -K.Y.］, and cross-over with
Yaoi culture. Each of them is growing in it's own way, and keeps going actively.
However, this expansion also is diffusion. If each medium is fractionalized
with it's own character, naturally there will be some separation between
the members who are consisting each medium in generation and style. This
probably means that the media, which is best able to cover the whole of gay
culture, will continue to be the gay magazines that have a wide audience
of every generation, from teens to seniors, and offer art and articles covering
tastes and lifestyles. （Note 18）
Note 01: In "Fuzokukitan" there is a section looking for articles
that say "we welcome stories, essays about your experience, and essays
on sadism, masochism, sodomy, lesbos, and fetishism which may interest our
readers."
Note 02: There is also the case of Adachi Eikichi, who will be discussed
later. He had a good reputation for his many gay novels in "Fuzokukitan." He
also sent his work to "Kitan-club" where the work "Otokozeme
Shosetsu, Chu-Chin-Chow （Male torture novel, Chu-Chin-Chow） was featured
under the name of Kan Ryota （December issue, 1960）. Because the reputation
of the magazine was not very good, he later released his work though "Fuzokukitan." This
is from the reminiscences of a person who corresponded with Adachi.
Note 03: This is a general term for magazines that featured photographs
and illustrations of "muscular and healthy male beauty" published
in the 1950s and 1960s in the US. On the surface, they were magazines of
male physical beauty and did not contain anything about sex or information
on gays. In fact, the editors and readers were both gay. In other words,
they were gay magazines pretending to be bodybuilders' magazines. They became
later the bases of gay erotic art in Europe and the US. For details of the
contents and history, refer to "Beefcake: The Muscle Magazines of America
1950-1970"! by F. Valentine III Fooven （TASCHEN America）
Note 04: As for Hirano Go, I have the extra issue of "Fuzokukitan" published
in 1963 with his work in it at hand. The data published here are not always
correct.
Note 05: For the relationship between Mamiya and "Fuzokukitan" please
refer to the sections on "Mishima Go" and "Okawa Tatsuji."
Note 06: However, it was not that "Fuzokukitan" stopped featuring
any gay articles; it kept publishing some gay article until the magazine
discontinued in 1974. For example, Morimoto Hiroshi, who worked on the long
running serial essay, "Nawa to Otoko Tachi （Ropes and Men）" in "Sabu" had
other serial articles in "Fuzokukitan" from 1969 to 1971. Still,
I must say the number of gay articles dramatically decreased compared with
the "gay golden years" ［1962 to 1964 -K.Y.］.
Note 07: As for small circulation magazines, more than ten years before "Bara," there
was the magazine "Adonis" （1952-1962）, as well as "Apollo," "Memoir," "Rashin," "Man," "Doko," and "Rakuen." For
details, refer to "Gay Toiu Keiken " by Fushimi Noriaki, （Pot Publishing
Co.） and "Bessatsu Taiyo, Hakkin Bon II Chikashitsu no Hon, （Heibon
Publishing Co.）
Note 08: There may be some objection to my definition of the word, "gay." My
theory is that "the word 'gay' is the name homosexuals actively chose
call themselves," and "it should be the word which is the greatest
common devisor to include the people with that sexuality," whether they
want it or not, There should be no homosexuals who are excluded from the
definition of the word. My differentiation of the word is based on the theory
stated here.
Note 09: On this issue, there is a study from a gay point of view, "Gay
toiu Keiken" by Fushimi Noriaki, （Pot Publishing Co.）. For the heterosexual
point of view, see "Ukiyoe Shunga to Danshoku" by Hayakawa Monta,
（Kawade Shobo Shinsha Publishers）.
Note 10: In this discussion of gay erotic art, I explain elements of
Yaoi culture from a sexual point of view. Many groups of people exist: "females
who are sexually stimulated by male intercourse, although they can never
be the subjects," "females who are transgender or transsexual,
or those who have that kind of nature," "heterosexual females who
consciously or unconsciously choose gay men as sexual subjects due to being
socially depressed in order to express their desire as females," "gay
males," "bisexual males," "heterosexual males who can
be turned on by androgynous looking men only when they are drawn on paper
in a two dimensional world," "heterosexual males and females who
can enjoy all kind of sexual fictions," and so on. "Liking very
young boys" may look like it is included in the sexuality, "gay." But
it also has a variety of groups, such as "bisexual males," and "heterosexual
males who are turned on by very young boys only when they are drawn on paper
in a two dimensional world." Their "liking of very young boys" cannot
be considered the same as gays' liking for very young boys.
Note 11: Generally speaking, people may think that the word "male beauty" means
the well-balanced physical beauty, as in Greek art, or that it means beautiful
men or handsome men in general. However, that is not necessarily what I am
talking about here.Some types of sexuality, such as bear chasers, chubby
chasers, senior lovers, have no connection to the general models of beauty.
Similarly, in erotic art, the standard of beauty basically depends on each
artist's sexuality. In addition, when erotic art is discussed, it is not
correct to think that sex appeal that is limited to "nudes." In
erotic art, expression of sex appeal is more or less filtered by the artist's
own fetishist-like taste. Seen through this filter, body parts such as muscles,
fat, body hair, skinhead, and items such as uniforms, leather, jikatabi ［Japanese
workers' split-toed heavy-cloth shoes -K.Y.］, and nylon stockings can all
be erotic "information." For example, considering the above, for
me, "a gay who likes machos, facial hair, middle aged men, and S&M," if
I am to look for ideal male beauty in ancient sculpture, I will look to the
Farnese Hercules, not the Apollo Belvedere: for an erotic piece I will select
Laocoon, not The Capitoline Venus or the Sleeping Hermaphrodite.
Note 12: If we trace the flow backwards, we may be able to go back
to the two Deva King sculptures in Todaiji temple's Southern great gate by
Unkei ［a famous sculptor of the period -K.Y.］ in Kamakura era ［1185-1333
-K.Y.］, or the single Deva King sculpture in Todaiji made in Tenpyo era ［710-794
-K.Y.］. The expressions such as the twisted muscles and the veins rising
on the surface of the skin are, though they might have been ways to express
the divinity and not male beauty, expressions erotic enough for gays like
me who loves macho types. In art history, what's described as "homosexual" is
limited to the works that are what's easy to understand for heterosexual
people's eyes such as "hermaphoroditism" or estheticism, otherwise
pictures of plural males to remind the viewers of gay relationship.
This may be going off track. As for the former one, it may be because
it is easy for heterosexuals ─who never experience anything that is homosexual─
to understand if gays are attracted to men who are "as beautiful as
women" or "with beauty beyond sexual differences." I have
no intention to deny it, but it is merely the result of viewing homosexual
is or gays from the outside, or the result of surmising abstractly. However,
the realty of gay sexuality has far more diverse. I have no intention to
say that Unkei was gay, but at the same time it is impossible to prove that
he wasn't gay either, so there is some possibility that there was some homoerotic
view in him while working on the sculptures. With a view such as "homoerotic
art which is easy to understand for people outside," or as explained
in Note 11, a view of general eroticism which excludes sexual minority's
views or fetishism," this kind of possibility cannot be picked up. Moreover,
as for the latter, ─male pictures to remind the viewer of gay relationship─
this is one example of misunderstanding that being gay is equal to having
homo-social relationship. Relationship or togetherness between men cannot
be gay if there is no sex existed there, and it can even be non-gay or anti-gay
when they deny there sexual relationship or the non-maleness of the men being
involved there. Still, their construction looks similar to gay's to the viewers
outside the relationship, and heterosexual men may detect a mysterious feeling
in it, gay men may have a dream of utopia upon it, and some women create
Yaoi culture from it. I am not going discuss the propriety of the confusion,
and I just would like to point out that there is some confusion existing.
Note 13: As for Yato Tamotsu, the existence of the artist is nearly
forgotten, and original negatives are spread and gone, there is no movement
to evaluate him once again. This is a very unfortunate not only for gay erotic
art, but also for the history of Japanese photography. His work is highly
artistic and timeless.
Note 14: Other than "Samson," there are several gay magazinesthat
specialize in fetishism: "Debusen" and "Homan" are for
chubby and senior chasers, and "Shonen" for young boy lovers. （"Debusen" and "Shonen" are
no longer published） I merely glanced at "Samson," and never tried
to study these magazines. I apologize for my lack of knowledge about the
gay erotic art in them. There was a comic magazine called "Bara-komi," although
it was not truly fetish. More recent fetish magazines include "Silver" for
senior chasers, "DAVE" for young chubby chasers, "Yume-shonen" for
boy lovers, "SM Toko Special" and "SM-Z" for S&M
lovers, and "Parade," a comic magazine. Only "SM-Z" is
still published.
Note 15: Of these artists, Naito Rune's relationship extends to the
establishment of "Barazoku." The style of his artwork may not be
exactly gay erotic art, but he did the cover art of the magazine for many
years and contributed essays. Therefore, many gays will remember him.
Note
16: General magazines such as "CREA," "Imago," and "AERA"featured
articles on gay, and art related magazines such as "Illustration" and "Photo
Japon" featured Antonio Lopez, Mel Odom, and Robert Mapplethorpe. Memorable
examples of gays own movement, include "Private Gay Life" by Fushimi
Noriaki and "Bssatsu Takarajima/Gay no Okirimono" are memorable.
Note 17: These movements may seem to have no connection with the changes
in gay erotic art. However, due to them, I can now claim that "in order
to establish Japanese gay culture, we must excavate and re-evaluate Japanese
gay erotic art from the past, and then excavate and support artists." Now
I can actually do this, in past by releasing this book.
Note 18: Each gay magazine's readers are actually narrow based on the
magazine's own taste. Since the market is less than one tenth of the general
population, it is quite difficult for the magazines to further narrow their
readership. If they do, as heterosexual specialized magazines or maniac magazines
do, since the market is too small, commercial magazines won't be able to
make a profit. Therefore, present gay magazines necessarily have a "general
magazine-like" appearance. |
【ポット出版】 
