Japanese Gay Art

More Moriuo

Masa — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 10:43:14 +0000

Here are some more illustrations by Moriuo. It is a real regret that I can’t show you his photo, as he is very handsome indeed and he speaks with the Kansai dialect which adds even more charm to. As I said before, the men in his paintings are very ordinary men. A kissing gay couple in his work looks like a straight couple, very casual and very natural without any dirty impression. And of course this “KISS” series is also hand painted in a sexy but not dirty way. I think that this is a charm of his works. And they will be available soon.

Illustration by Moriuo

Tokyo life: Gay Pride Parade

Masa — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:23:12 +0000

I heard about the gay parade in Tokyo so I decided to go and take a look at it. Of course it is not as big and so gorgeous as Sydney Mardi Gras, but as far as I think of Japan as a not so gay tolerant society I understood that, though slowly, there is progress and I was happy to realise it. But I wish that next time when the pride parade is held, that this parade will not be a festival just for “gay family circle” but a festival where straight people are also intended to enjoy it or take part in it.

The Japanese gay community thinks that within Japanese society they are put in the position of victims, as an artists told me recently. I can say that it is similar to the thought that gay people are the same as handicapped people. But if they feel oppressed then I can not help thinking that it is not the right way to feel. I think we need to appeal that there is no need to pay special attention to a gay person in society. In the head of the parade was Mr.Otsuka who is a gay activist and the owner of Tac’s Knot (a gay bar). Mr. Ichikawa Kazhide, Mr. Yamanaka Masao, JIRO, Yu, and other artists also took part in the Pride Parade. I hope this parade will be bigger next year.

Tokyo Pride Parade

Introducing Moriuo

Masa — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:50:10 +0000

I’ve paid attention to Moriuo’s works for a long time and last year I asked him to place his works in my Sydney Mardis Gras exhibition but due to bad timing he had no chance to join that show. During this stay in Japan I managed to meet Moriuo and he’s agreed to show his works on this site for sale.

The way he depicts men is very common, but “common men” do not often exist in gay art. It sounds strange but it happens because gay artists tend to write about what they like, their favorite types of men. What can be said about him is that Moriuo depicts men who cannot be classified as cool men. From the point of view of foreign people his way of choosing his object is a little bit odd. In his works ordinary men love ordinary men in a very casual way, and the men themselves are not very handsome. His works make you think that common is cool.

I am going to introduce his works dividing them into two parts. The first one is a series of portraits. At first sight they may look like computer graphics, but they are all drawn by hand. He never uses a computer for his works. He says that while being a university student he mastered oil painting and simplified his style later. I’ve introduced you to many gay artists but he cdiffers from all of them. It will be great if you feel the charm of his works, producing an impression of pop and casualness.

Illustration by Moriuo

Tokyo Life: Exhibitions

Masa — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:46:22 +0000

I’ve been to some very interesting and fascinating exhibitions in Tokyo. One was devoted to the works of Ryudai Takano. In 2006 he published a photographic collection “In My Room”, devoted to sexuality, which made the author a sensation. The book received the Kimura Ihei photo prize. The redefinition of sex has become the main theme of his photos. While Mr. Takano is not a gay man, his photos feature photos of men posing as women, but fully displaying their nude bodies, genitalia and all, creating works which confront ideas of sexual definition

The next exhibition was dedicated to the works of Mr. Nobuyoshi Araki. She hosts a new exhibition every month, from the first day of the month for 10 days. Those who love his art know about these exhibitions because it has been hold for 10 years every month. On the first day of the exhibition Mr. Araki himself appears there. He is more known by his nickname Arākī and is known as a virtuoso of photography in Japan. Bjork is one of his fans and his pictures are used in her CDs. Recently he dealt with Lady Gaga, producing a CD jacket for her. His talent is recognised around the world. The exhibition I saw was dedicated to pictures of women in Japanese bondage taken by Polaroid, with full nudity. In Japan the exposure of genitals is prohibited but his works are well regarded that he gets past this censorship and his erotic works are allowed to be displayed.

I have also bought very interesting books of photos and illustrations by the author Keiichi Inamine. It is a highlight of photographic art. I want to put my hat off to his talent because he depicts asian men in all their beauty. Another book of illustrations by Sadao Hasegawa is not being sold in open market. I can say that it is a lucky find!! I am going to sell them so if you want to buy them contact me please!

Ryudai Takano exhibition flyer

Ryudai Takano exhibition

Ryudai Takano exhibition flyer

Nobuyoshi Araki exhibition flyer

Books by Keiichi Inamine and Sadao Hasegawa

Tokyo Life: Gay Bars

Masa — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:16:25 +0000

Everyone knows that gay bars in Tokyo are situated in Shinjuku Nichome. With more then 100 bars it is one of the biggest gay areas in the world together with the one which is located in Osaka, Doyama. They say that recently more then 80 gay bars exist in Shimbashi, more then 100 in Ueno and about 80 in Asakusa, which makes it obvious that Shinjuku is the place where you can find gay bars.

The biggest group who go to Shinjuku are people in their 20s, tourists and foreigners – let us say those who would buy BADI magazine. Those people who go to Shimbashi or Ueno proffer to buy G-men – people in his 30s and 40s. Gays who visit Asakusa belong to the clientele of “Samson” magazine and are in their 40s or over. Not long ago I went to a gay bar in Asakusa with an artist and the visitors there made fun of me when I said I was in my 40s – “Greenhorn!” they said. Well, now you understand that gay bars are located not only in Shinjuku, that is not widely known abroad.

When you chose a bar or a sauna to visit, take in to account the information about where people of certain age go. In this connection, for those who are interested, there are “24 KAIKAN” saunas in Asakusa and Ueno with wall paintings of Matsuri festival, by Mr. Tagame Gengoro as in the picture below.

Painting on the wall of a gay bath house

Talk Show of Gengoro Tagame

Masa — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:00:11 +0000

As mentioned Gengoroh Tagame recently held his first personal exhibition, and as part of it he held a talk show one night. It was a very remarkable event for admirers of his talent. The publisher of gay erotic art books Kin Sawabe, and an adult video writer Amemiya Mami also took part in the show as guests, which made its context extremely interesting. The topics for discussion were “Present and Future Gay Art Scene” and “Man and Man Eros”. It was a really good chance to get ti know Mr Tagame’s opinion as a novelist. I’m sorry for those who could not come and listen to his talk. It is very precious for fans of manga to know directly from its creator how the work is born. I was astonished when I understood that more than half of the people who came there were women! There were more people than space could allow so some of them had to listen standing.

The second part of the talk was time for answering questions, and again women were more active and asked more specific questions. I was very surprised that there were more enthusiastic fans among women and some of them praised Mr.Tagame as a god! I was again surprised this time that he has so many worshipers everywhere and that woman power goes neck to neck with gay power.

(left to right) Mr Kin Sawada and Gengoro Tagame, Amemiya Mami

Tokyo life: Rainbow Ring and Akta

Masa — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:48:12 +0000

The Rainbow Ring project was started to create an atmosphere of safer sex support. As a project entrusted by the AIDS Prevention Foundation, Rainbow Ring opened a facility in Tokyo/Shinjuku called Akta, where everyone can come freely. One can find information about AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. It also acts like a community center for people who often gather and visit the Nichome area. Sometimes Akta is used as a place for exhibitions, language studies, lectures and other events. Some artists are also involved in its activity. They create packages for condoms, flyers concerning HIV, pamphlets and other things. Some of the artists whom I introduce to you here in my blog also take an active part in creating design. If you are in Tokyo/Shinjuku Nichome area you can come and get not only various helpful information but also some interesting items designed using japanese gay manga and other themed illustrations.

Community Center Akta
301-2-15-13　Sinjuku Shinjuku –ku Tokyo
Phone :03-3226-8998
Web site: http://www.rainbowring.org/

Rainbow Ring and Akta

Things at Rainbow Ring and Akta

Hideki Koh – New art works

Masa — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:04:30 +0000

New works of Hideki Koh are now available. They were introduced in his individual show in Japan recently. To buy his works on this site will be cheaper then to buy them in Japan. The list prices of his works on this site are given according to international values but the value of his works inside Japan are extremely high – about 1.5 or even 2 times higher. I recommend you to buy his works as soon as possible if you are a fan.

His painting technique is being refined from year to year and one can say that he has already become a genius. In comparison with other artists, he usually draws in a very high pace, but as he is maturing his pace becomes slower. That is why I expect that probably from year to year we shall have less of his works on our site as the number of collectors of his works grows as well. I advise you to order his works as quick as possible.

Illustration by Hideki Koh

Chinko exhibition

Masa — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:44:51 +0000

The name of this exhibition is very interesting. In Japanese CHINKO means penis and the word “personal exhibition” means KOTEN so the name of the event I went to take a look at was a combination of the two words CHINKOTEN. Well, let me call it by mixing English and Japanese – “CHINxibition”. It is not an exhibition of gay artists, but by MANA YAMAMOTO, the artist who took part in the Sydney Mardi Gras. She displayed her pictures at my exhibition so that was the reason of my visiting the event. It is being hold in DESIGN FIESTA Gallery in Harajuku, Tokyo. The gallery is a big facility which hosts many events, mostly with students and amateur artists. But still it is possible to find some really interesting pieces there.

This time exhibition is not a very big one, but the works which are on display there depict the theme which has been taboo in Japan for a long time. And that is why it drew my attention. Frankly speaking, the works look a bit too unprofessional. But it made an impression that Japan is changing little by little.

Chinko exhibition

Shortly before I went there I had the chance to talk to a cartoonist, who writes boys love manga, about the situation with expressions of sexuality in Japan. During my visit to Japan I noticed that people are becoming more and more tolerate to the theme of “sexuality”, which was taboo before and had caused some problems. Because there had been excessive expression, the regulations became very tight. As they say the restrictions are not applied for BOYS LOVE works, but one publishing company started selling BOYS LOVE magazines as a set with vibrators, which drew the attention of authorities.

For those who do not know, BOYS LOVE manga is a genre which depicts love between men, i.e. gay love, but it is written for women. And it is extremely popular and well sold genre. Several days ago I went to a big bookstore and found that one third of manga books in the manga corner were comics about BOYS LOVE.

Every time I go back to Japan I ask myself the question, what is this country move towards? Of course, depending upon the country you’re looking from, the point of view and dimensions differ greatly. Sometimes it seems tolerant and sometime conservative, but I can feel the gap when looking at Japan while living abroad. For example the existence of pixilation to obscure sexual organs. Though everyone can watch full nudity on the internet the rule to pixelate genitals in Japan looks very odd to me. But as you know, the more you hide the more people want to see, and the places which are hidden with pixels draws more attention and it really works in manga.

The organizer of the exhibition explains the idea of the event as follows:

“Why do we call some parts of our body which we have from our birth obscene or dirty? Are they really so? By means of this event we explain why humans do so to “sweet dick” and how people express “sweet dick”.

The exhibition will be open till tomorrow, Aug 21 in Design Festa gallery in Harajuku. Why not visit if you have free time?

Chinko exhibition

Introducing Satomitsu Danji

Masa — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:48:15 +0000

While staying in Japan I’ve met many manga cartoonists but it has become really difficult to meet a person who draws manga by hand, not by using PC graphics. Viewing printed illustrations does not always ring a bell for those who like art. I also don’t feel as much satisfaction when I look at computer graphics or printed pictures. Having such a feeling I started demanding that I “offer works which are either drawn by hand or are part handworks”. The artist whom I want to introduce to you now also uses computer graphics mainly, but formerly he specialised in Japanese painting and dealt with exquisite monochrome ink painting. The works which I introduce to you here are related to comics and illustrations, but as far as I demand hand painted works, the next selection will probably differ. First of all I’d like to introduce you to some of his early works in my blog.

Illustration by Satomitsu Danji