From: blamb@rodan.hri.com (Bill Lambert)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Japanese Censorship & Violence against Women
Date: 30 Sep 92 22:19:02 GMT
Reply-To: blamb@rodan.hri.com (Bill Lambert)
Organization: Horizon Research

In article <farant.1oui@terapin.com>, farant@terapin.com
(Faran Thomason) writes:
=> I really haven't been keeping up with the Rapeman/Violence against
women debate
=> but...
=> 
=> Out of curiosity I have seen some of the "adult" videos from Japan. Some by
=> Eruption were complete hardcore I assume these are ILLEGAL in Japan. Does
=> anyone know what countries these were inteneded for or are they sold on the
=> Black Market ??

There apparently is such a Black Market in Japan. However, the modified
versions (with parts obliterated) are legal, and may even be available
for closed circuit viewing at hotels and the like. They are called
"P" (porn) rated.

=> Some films were censored with a mosaic pattern blocking the "dirty parts".
=> However I saw other videos which instead of a mosaic just darkened
the picture
=> slighty in the pubic regions. How does this get past the censors ???

Believe it or not, I was told that the censorship is against the showing
of pubic hair, and not necessarily genitalia. If someone could obliterate
the former without the latter, I assume it's OK. (remember, in Japan
there are certain public festivals where giant penises and vulva are
displayed without any particular shame or desire for censorship.)

=> Some one said that Americans can buy "Chaisn & Whips" magazines at Us
=> newstands. Actually I don't think that there is many "mainstream" porn that
=> deals with bondage/S&M especially in US videos--unless you search for
material
=> us porn(in the 90's) is "non-violent. However, just recently saw
Japanese porn
=> that involved rape/and bondage together!!! I am a pretty jaded film fan and
=> this startled me. 

I was the one who mentioned "Whips & Chains". I'm not sure of the name
of the magazines, but a small town drugstore (MA) where I used to live had
quite an assortment of such magazines, as does a store in the town
where my company is located that also sells joke products, and rents
costumes. I'll guess, that if you looked, you could find quite a bit
more hardcore porn here (especially around larger cities) than in Japan,
and even that which caters to S&M and rape fantasies. This is not
"Black Market" stuff either. There is an adult book store open to
the public about 2 miles from where I sit where - I'm told - you
can get something for any interest. In Japan, you can buy or rent the
doctored stuff.... or comics that abide by the censorship rules.

=> My question is Why are Japanese censors prudish in the showing of
=> genetaila but Ultra Liberal on the sexually-violent subject matter ???

We should refrain from trying to apply our own standards (or lack of them,
as the case may be, and it may be either) to things in Japan. There are
some subtle, but large, differences in a largely Judeo-Christian based
morality system and that of Japan (M. Goldman, please note:-).I hope
someone Japanese will correct me if my statements are not correct, but
I'll try to explain my understanding of censorship in Japan (related to
sex and media, anyway.... not WW II).

In Japan they try to maintain a single standard for what is OK or not
OK. This is opposed to the US perception of trying to make different
standards for different ages, such as "adult" book stores, movie
ratings, and the like. The consensus is that stuff that is not
appropriate for children can't be isolated from them, even by the
application of different age standards. So, as confusing as it may
seem, Japan will have present in their common media situations that
we think are contradictory: prudish on the one hand, but purient
on the other. For example, US editions of Playboy and like mags will
have genital areas scratched out, but afternoon network broadcasts
or even news shows may show bare breasted females, or the Giant Dork
Festival. This sort of situation arises from the application of single
common standard within the popular media. In a society where communal
bathing was once prominent, and still commonplace, the mere fact of
some nudity is not at all as offensive as some people would have it
seem here. 

Mixed into this, is a Japanese (and it seems more prevalent among most
asian peoples) perception that pursuit of sexual fulfillment is a quite
natural adjunct to a happy life and even mental condition. Exceptions
to what we might term "usual" (i.e. heterosexual, non-violent, etc.)
have traditionally been a little more tolerated in the light of being
perhaps more undesireable, rather than sinful.... or sinful's brother -
disgusting. This sense permeates a bit into the mainstream media where
is seen some S&M stuff, or fare related to other fetishes, in comics or
magazines. As there are no "adult" bookstores, or a separation of content
based on age or place of sale, the censors apparently allow it to exist
in relatively tame forms as a necessary outlet for those who desire it.

Prostitution was only outlawed "officially" by the post WW II constitution
under the influence of MacArthur's hand. Even today, while there are not
many visible "street walkers" plying their trade in the open, there are
Soaplands and Cabarets where there are forms of prostitution that the
government essentially allows to exist in order to maintain some degree
of control, although very unofficial, of course. In essense, they admit
that if they tried to ban such institutions, they would only surface in
some way in the illegal sector, so they look aside and maintain such
enterprises in a "gray" zone, so to speak. Once again, the view is these
places may be an undesirable part of the social structure, but a necessary
one, and one that would exist if the government took an official hard-line
or not.

There is a deep basis for these differing perceptions between the two
cultures. Whether we like to admit or not, there is so much in our
culture that presupposes the conquest of the natural by the spiritual,
while the Japanese (and many asian cultures) assume no such clearly
distinct human dichotomy. Japanese thinking has as a background a
strange brew of Shinto, Confucian, and Buddhist thought where they
assimilate that which is desireable in each, even if the nature
worship of Shintoism, the pragmatism of Confucius, and the ethereal
elements of Buddhism are often and decidedly at odds. But while it
may seem strange that many claim to be members of two (or even three,
if they are Christian) religions, they cover all the bases, as 
Shintoism defines the order of nature, Confucius - the conduct of
human affairs, and Buddhism the matters of the spirit. It may not be
quite as strange as it seems that these three cornerstones of Japanese
culture can coexist without philosophical conflict, and even differing
moral standards that can be applied to varying situations. In some ways,
they don't really overlap at all. Traditional Judeo-Christian thought
has tried to reconcile the three realms under one, often self-conflicting,
philosophy, whereby Shintoism, Confucian thought, and Buddhism developed
essentially independent from the influence of each other, and thereby
don't try to reconcile to a single philosophy to describe and define the
sum total of all human nature. In large part, this has manifested itself
to Western eyes as a "Nation of Contradictions" or "enigmatic Japanese"
or other such labels. When we try to classify moral issues against our
own standards, we will inevitably create contradictions, but those are
contradictions to us, and not necessarily contradictions to those existing
in a different moral context or background.

The Abortion Issue (or non-issue) in Japan is a good case in point. 
(Perhaps strangely for some, in Japan abortion is legal, but birth
control pills were not - except for medical purposes - until just
last year.) There is no controversy about the moment of human
viability, etc. and no large outcry to stop abortion as a moral
issue. Some time ago, the Japanese recognized that back alley
abortions by ill-trained practitioners were killing a lot of women,
and they decided that it was something that they couldn't stop in
any case. Abortion was legalized. But everyone recognizes the "spirit"
of the dead fetus (and they define it as a baby), and they have 
cemeteries for honoring those little ones. Would-be mothers that chose
to abort their babies are allowed to grieve for that child, and to
pray for its soul. The Shinto recognition of the drive for fertility,
the Confucian practicality to respect the decision of the parent,
and Buddist care of the soul, work to make the entire issue different
than it is in the context of the Western moral dilemna of separating
matters of the heart from matters of the mind. 

Such differences in basic culture will color most attempts to compare
relative morality. And recognizing these differences in thought are
important for recognizing why we think the way we do (both J's & G's).
But putting value judgements on moral choices by any common standard
(other than rape statistics :-) is an exercise in futility.

- Bill Lambert