Homosexuality in Japan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Men who have sex with men

Men who have sex with men are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, regardless of how they identify themselves; many men choose not to accept sexual identities of homosexual or bisexual...

in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

date back to ancient times. Western scholars have identified these as evidence of homosexuality in Japan.

There were few laws restricting sexual behavior in Japan before the early modern period. Anal sodomy

Sodomy

Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...

was restricted by legal prohibition in 1873, but the provision was repealed only seven years later by the Penal Code of 1880 in accordance with the Napoleonic Code

Napoleonic code

The Napoleonic Code — or Code Napoléon — is the French civil code, established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified...

.

Historical practices identified by scholars as homosexual include shudō (衆道), wakashudō (若衆道) and nanshoku (男色).

Modern terms for homosexuals include dōseiaisha (同性愛者, literally same-sex-loving person), gei (ゲイ, gay), homosekusharu (ホモセクシャル, homosexual), rezu or rezubian (レズ、レズビアン, transliterations of lesbian) and homo (ホモ).

Ancient Japan

The Japanese term nanshoku (男色, which can also be read as danshoku) is the Japanese reading of the same characters in Chinese, which literally mean "male colors." The character 色 (color) still has the meaning of sexual pleasure in China and Japan. This term was widely used to refer to some kind of male–male sex in a pre-modern era of Japan. The term shudō (衆道) (abbreviated from wakashūdō, the "way of adolescent boys") is also used, especially in older works.

According to Gary Leupp, a professor of history at Tufts University, the ancient Japanese associated nanshoku with China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, a country from which borrowed ideas became the basis for much of Japanese high culture, including their writing system (kanji

Kanji

Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...

, Chinese characters). The Japanese nanshoku tradition drew heavily on that of China (see Homosexuality in China

Homosexuality in China

Homosexuality in China refers to homosexuality in Chinese culture; which, as a term, is relatively ambiguous in the contemporary context, although many instances have been recorded in the dynastic histories.-Terminology in China:...

).

A variety of obscure literary references to same-sex love exist in ancient sources, but many of these are so subtle as to be unreliable; another consideration is that declarations of affection for friends of the same sex were also common. Nevertheless, references do exist, and they become more numerous in the Heian Period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

, roughly the 11th century. In Genji Monogatari (源氏物語, The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji
is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...

), written in the early 11th century, men are frequently moved by the beauty of youths. In one scene the hero is rejected by a certain lady, and instead sleeps with her young brother:

Genji pulled the boy down beside him . . . Genji, for his part, or so one is informed, found the boy more attractive than his chilly sister.

The Tale of Genji is a novel, but there exist several Heian-era diaries which contain references to homosexual acts as well. Some of these also contain references to Emperors

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

involved in homosexual relationships and to "handsome boys retained for sexual purposes" by Emperors.

There can be found references to what Leupp has called "problems of gender identity" in other literary works, such as the story of a youth falling in love with a girl who is actually a cross-dressing male.

Monastic same-sex love

Nanshoku relationships inside monasteries were typically pederastic

Pederasty

Pederasty or paederasty is an intimate relationship between an adult and an adolescent boy outside his immediate family. The word pederasty derives from Greek "love of boys", a compound derived from "child, boy" and "lover".Historically, pederasty has existed as a variety of customs and...

, that is, an age-structured relationship where the younger partner is not considered adult. The older partner, or nenja ("lover" or "admirer"), would be a monk, priest or abbot, while the younger partner was assumed to be an acolyte (chigo, 稚児), who would be a prepubescent or adolescent boy; the relationship would be dissolved once the boy reached adulthood (or left the monastery). Both parties were encouraged to treat the relationship seriously and conduct the affair honorably, and the nenja might be required to write a formal vow of fidelity. Outside of the monasteries, monks were considered to have a particular predilection for male prostitutes, which was the subject of much ribald humor.

There was no religious opposition to homosexuality in Japan in non-Buddhist kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...

tradition. Tokugawa

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

commentators felt free to illustrate the kami engaging in anal sex with each other. During the Tokugawa period, some of the Shinto gods, especially Hachiman, Myoshin, Shinmei and Tenjin, "came to be seen as guardian deities of nanshoku" (male–male love). Tokugawa-era writer Ihara Saikaku

Ihara Saikaku

was a Japanese poet and creator of the "floating world" genre of Japanese prose .-Biography:Born the son of the wealthy merchant Hirayama Tōgo in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku, and later studied under Nishiyama Sōin of the Danrin School of poetry, which emphasized...

joked that since there are no women for the first three generations in the genealogy of the gods found in the Nihon Shoki

Nihon Shoki

The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical...

, the gods must have enjoyed homosexual relationships—which Saikaku argued was the real origin of nanshoku.

Military same-sex love

From religious circles, same-sex love spread to the warrior (samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

) class, where it was customary for a boy in the wakashū
Wakashū
Wakashū , is a historical Japanese term indicating an adolescent boy; more specifically, a boy between the ages at which his head was partially shaven , at which point a boy exited early childhood and could begin formal education, apprenticeship, or employment outside the home,...

age category to undergo training in the martial arts by apprenticing to a more experienced adult man. The man was permitted, if the boy agreed, to take the boy as his lover until he came of age; this relationship, often formalized in a "brotherhood contract", was expected to be exclusive, with both partners swearing to take no other (male) lovers. This practice, along with clerical pederasty, developed into the codified system of age-structured homosexuality known as shudō, abbreviated from wakashūdo, the "way (do
Do (Way)
A Dō is any one of a number of spiritual, martial, or aesthetic disciplines that evolved in Japan and Korea. The term "Dō" is borrowed from the Chinese philosophical concept of Tao , a word meaning 'way', 'path', 'route', or sometimes more loosely, 'doctrine' or 'principle'...

) of wakashū". The older partner, in the role of nenja, would teach the wakashū martial skills, warrior etiquette, and the samurai code of honor, while his desire to be a good role model for his wakashū would lead him to behave more honorably himself; thus a shudō relationship was considered to have a "mutually ennobling effect". In addition, both parties were expected to be loyal unto death, and to assist the other both in feudal duties and in honor-driven obligations such as duels and vendettas. Although sex between the couple was expected to end when the boy came of age, the relationship would, ideally, develop into a life-long bond of friendship. At the same time, sexual activity with women was not barred (for either party), and once the boy came of age, both were free to seek other wakashū lovers.

Like later Edo same-sex practices, samurai shudō was strictly role-defined; the nenja was seen as the active, desiring, penetrative partner, while the younger, sexually receptive wakashū was considered to submit to the nenjas attentions out of love, loyalty, and affection, rather than sexual desire. Among the samurai class, adult men were (by definition) not permitted to take the wakashū role; only preadult boys (or, later, lower-class men) were considered legitimate targets of homosexual desire. In some cases, shudō relationships arose between boys of similar ages, but the parties were still divided into nenja and wakashū roles.

Middle class same-sex love

As Japanese society became pacified, the middle classes adopted many of the practices of the warrior class, in the case of shudō giving it a more mercantile interpretation. Male prostitutes (kagema

Kagema

Kagema is a historical Japanese term for young male prostitutes. Kagema were often passed off as apprentice kabuki actors and catered to a mixed male and female clientele. For male clients, the preferred service was anal sex; homosexual fellatio is almost unmentioned in Tokugawa-era documents...

), who were often passed off as apprentice kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

actors and who catered to a mixed male and female clientele, did a healthy trade into the mid-19th century despite increasing restrictions. Many such prostitutes, as well as many young kabuki actors, were indentured servant

Indentured servant

Indentured servitude refers to the historical practice of contracting to work for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of indenture. Usually the father made the arrangements and signed...

s sold as children to the brothel or theatre, typically on a ten-year contract. Relations between merchants and boys hired as shop staff or housekeepers were common enough, at least in the popular imagination, to be the subject of erotic stories and popular jokes. Young kabuki

Kabuki

actors often worked as prostitutes off-stage, and were celebrated in much the same way as modern media stars are today, being much sought after by wealthy patrons, who would vie with each other to purchase their favors. Onnagata

Oyama (Japanese theatre)

Onnagata or oyama , are male actors who impersonate women in Japanese kabuki theatre. The modern all-male kabuki was originally known as yarō kabuki to distinguish it from earlier forms...

(female-role) and wakashū-gata (adolescent boy-role) actors in particular were the subject of much appreciation by both male and female patrons, and figured largely in nanshoku shunga
Shunga
' is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement...

prints and other works celebrating nanshoku, which occasionally attained best-seller status.

Male prostitutes and actor-prostitutes serving male clientele were originally restricted to the wakashū

Wakashū

Wakashū , is a historical Japanese term indicating an adolescent boy; more specifically, a boy between the ages at which his head was partially shaven , at which point a boy exited early childhood and could begin formal education, apprenticeship, or employment outside the home,...

age category, as adult men were not perceived as desirable or socially acceptable sexual partners for other men. During the 17th century, these men (or their employers) sought to maintain their desirability by deferring or concealing their coming-of-age and thus extending their "non-adult" status into their twenties or even thirties; this eventually led to an alternate, status-defined shudō relationship which allowed clients to hire "boys" who were, in reality, older than themselves. This evolution was hastened by mid-17th century bans on the depiction of the wakashūs long forelocks, their most salient age marker, in kabuki plays; intended to efface the sexual appeal of the young actors and thus reduce violent competition for their favors, this restriction eventually had the unintended effect of de-linking male sexual desirability from actual age, so long as a suitably "youthful" appearance could be maintained.

Art of same-sex love

These activities were the subject of countless literary works, most of which remain to be translated. However, English translations are available for Ihara Saikaku

Ihara Saikaku

who created a bisexual main character in The Life of An Amorous Man (1682), Jippensha Ikku

Jippensha Ikku

was the pen name of Shigeta Sadakazu , a Japanese writer active during the late Edo period of Japan. He lived primarily in Edo in the service of samurai, but also spent some time in Osaka as a townsman...

who created an initial gay relationship in the post-publication "Preface" to Shank's Mare (1802 et seq), and Ueda Akinari

Ueda Akinari

Ueda Akinari or Ueda Shūsei was a Japanese author, scholar and waka poet, and a prominent literary figure in 18th century Japan...

who had a homosexual Buddhist monk in Tales of Moonlight and Rain (1776). Likewise, many of the greatest artists of the period, such as Hokusai

Hokusai

was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. He was influenced by such painters as Sesshu, and other styles of Chinese painting...

and Hiroshige

Hiroshige

was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige ....

, prided themselves in documenting such loves in their prints, known as ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e

' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...

, pictures of the floating world, and where they had an erotic tone, shunga

Shunga

' is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement...

, or pictures of spring.

Nanshoku was not considered incompatible with heterosexuality; books of erotic prints dedicated to nanshoku often presented erotic images of both young women (concubines, mekake, or prostitutes, jōrō) as well as attractive adolescent boys (wakashū
Wakashū
Wakashū , is a historical Japanese term indicating an adolescent boy; more specifically, a boy between the ages at which his head was partially shaven , at which point a boy exited early childhood and could begin formal education, apprenticeship, or employment outside the home,...

) and cross-dressing youths (onnagata). Indeed, several works suggest that the most "envious" situation would be to have both many jōrō and many wakashū.
Likewise, women were considered to be particularly attracted to both wakashū and onnagata, and it was assumed that these young men would reciprocate that interest. Therefore, both the typical practitioners of nanshoku and the young men they desired would be considered bisexual

Bisexuality

Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...

in modern terminology. Men who were purely homosexual might be called "woman-haters" (onna-girai); this term, however, carried the connotation of aggressive distaste of women

Misogyny

Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...

in all social contexts, rather than simply a preference for male sexual partners.

Homosexuality in modern Japan

Despite the recent trends that suggest a new level of tolerance, as well as open scenes in more cosmopolitan cities (such as Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

and Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

), Japanese gay men and lesbian women often conceal their sexuality; with many even marrying persons of the opposite sex to avoid discrimination.

Politics and law

Japan has no laws against homosexual activity, and has some legal protections for gay individuals. In addition, there are some legal protections for transgender individuals.

Consensual sex between adults of the same sex is legal, but some prefectures

Prefectures of Japan

The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 subnational jurisdictions: one "metropolis" , Tokyo; one "circuit" , Hokkaidō; two urban prefectures , Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other prefectures . In Japanese, they are commonly referred to as...

set the age of consent

Age of consent

While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...

for same-sex sexual activity higher than for opposite-sex sexual activity.

While civil rights laws do not extend to protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, some governments have enacted such laws. The government of Tokyo

Tokyo

has passed laws that ban discrimination in employment based on sexual identity.

The major political parties express little public support for gay rights issues. Despite recommendations from the Council for Human Rights Promotion, the Diet has yet to take action on including sexual orientation in the country's civil rights code.

Some political figures, however, are beginning to speak publicly about their own homosexuality. Kanako Otsuji

Kanako Otsuji

is a Japanese LGBT rights activist and former member of the Osaka Prefectural Assembly . One of only seven women in the 110-member Osaka Assembly, Otsuji represented the Sakai-ku, Sakai City constituency.- Early life :...

, an assemblywoman from Osaka

Osaka

, came out

Coming out

Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

as a lesbian in 2005. Two years earlier, in 2003, Aya Kamikawa

Aya Kamikawa

) is a Tokyo municipal official, the first transsexual person to seek elected office in Japan. She was elected in April 2003. Kamikawa, a 35-year-old writer, submitted her election application papers with a blank space for "sex."...

became the first openly transgender elected official in Tokyo, Japan.

Popular culture

A number of personalities who appear on television in Japan daily are gay or transgender, or cultivate such an image as part of their public persona.

A number of artists, nearly all male, have begun to speak publicly about their homosexuality, appearing on various talk show

Talk show

A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....

s and other programs, their celebrity often focused on their sexuality; twin pop-culture critics Piko and Osugi are an example. Akihiro Miwa

Akihiro Miwa

, is a Japanese singer, actor, drag queen, director, composer and author from Nagasaki in Nagasaki Prefecture. His real name is . He writes most of his own music and has written over 20 books. An open homosexual, he is also a drag queen who often dyes his shoulder-length hair bright yellow.-Early...

, a drag queen

Drag queen

A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...

and former lover of author Yukio Mishima

Yukio Mishima

was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...

, is the television advertisement spokesperson for many Japanese companies ranging from beauty to financial products. Kenichi Mikawa

Kenichi Mikawa

is a Japanese singer and TV personality, known for his outspoken views and style.Mikawa was born in Suwa, Nagano as . He recorded a number of hit songs as a male enka singer in the 1960s and 1970s. The most well-known of his songs include "Sasoriza no Onna" and "Yanagase Blues"...

, a former pop idol singer who now blurs the line between male and female costuming and make-up, can also regularly be seen on various programs, as can crossdressing entertainer Peter

Peter (actor)

is a Japanese singer, dancer and actor who has appeared in Akira Kurosawa's Ran and Toshio Matsumoto's Bara no Sōretsu. Ikehata also uses his stage name of when he appears on TV variety shows and musical revues...

. Singer-songwriter and actress Ataru Nakamura

Ataru Nakamura

is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter.-Early life:Born in Tokyo on 28 June 1985, Nakamura began studying music at a young age. She taught herself to play the piano, guitar, and the drums at age ten, and began to write her own songs at the age of thirteen...

was one of the first transgendered personalities to become highly popular in Japan; in fact, sales of her music rose after she discussed her MTF

Trans woman

A trans woman is a male-to-female transsexual or transgender person and the term trans woman is preferred by some individuals over various medical terms. Other non-medical terms include t-girl, tg-girl and ts-girl...

gender reassignment surgery on the variety show All Night Nippon in 2006.
Some non-gay entertainers have used stereotypical references to homosexuality to increase their profile. Razor Ramon Sumitani a.k.a. Hard Gay (HG), a comedian, shot to fame after he began to appear in public wearing a leather harness, hot pants and cap. His outfit, name, and trademark pelvis thrusting and squeals earned him the adoration of fans and the scorn of many in the Japanese gay community

Gay community

The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...

.

Ai Haruna

Ai Haruna

is a Japanese transsexual TV personality and singer, famous for imitating popular idol Aya Matsuura.In October 2009, Haruna won the "Miss International Queen 2009" transsexual beauty pageant held in Pattaya, Thailand, becoming the first Japanese contestant to win the title.-Singles:* "Iu Yo Ne" *...

and Ayana Tsubaki

Ayana Tsubaki

is a Japanese transsexual TV personality and fashion model.-Biography:Tsubaki entered Aoyama Gakuin University as a male, but left in the second year to work in Kabukichō, Tokyo. In July 2006, she underwent sex reassignment surgery in Phuket, Thailand, and in December 2006, officially changed her...

, two high profile transsexual celebrities, have gained popularity and have been making the rounds on some very popular Japanese variety shows. , Hiromi

Hiromi (model)

, better known simply as Hiromi , is a Japanese fashion model, who has been active in the professional and commercial modeling fields since late 2000s...

, a fashion model, revealed her homosexuality.

A greater amount of gay and transgender characters have also begun appearing (with positive portrayals) on Japanese television, such as the highly successful Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
, also known as Ike-para, is a Japanese drama produced by Fuji Television and first aired on July 3, 2007. It is based on the comic by Hisaya Nakajo, published in English as Hana-Kimi. Filming locations include the Ryutsu Keizai University....

and Last Friends
Last Friends
is a Japanese television drama which aired on Fuji TV at 10:00 pm every Thursday from April 10, 2008 until June 17, 2008. The special, consisting of a recap and some new additional scenes aired on June 26, 2008....

television series.

Media

With the rise of visible gay community and the attendant rise of media for gay audiences, the Hadaka Matsuri

Hadaka Matsuri

A is a type of Japanese festival, or matsuri, in which participants wear a minimum amount of clothing; usually just a Japanese loincloth , sometimes with a short happi coat, and rarely completely naked. Whatever the clothing, it is considered to be above vulgar, or everyday, undergarments, and on...

("Naked Festival") has become a fantasy scenario for gay videos.

There is a genre of anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

and manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

that focuses on gay male romance (and sometimes explicit content) known as yaoi

Yaoi

In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...

. Yaoi titles are primarily marketed to women, and are commonplace in bookstores (normally found in or near to the shōjo manga section). Various terms are used in Japan to refer to yaoi.

The blanket term "yaoi

Yaoi

" is an acronym for the phrase "Yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi", which means "no peak, no point, no meaning". (A backronym

Backronym

A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....

meant as a joke identifies it as "Yamete, oshiri (ga) itai" which literally means "Stop, my bottom hurts!").

"June" refers to plots containing romance and drama that feature mature, adult male characters. "BL" ("Boys' Love") refers to stories that either contain younger characters, or more light-hearted romance (as an alternative to more sexual content). The phrase "shōnen-ai", translated from Japanese in the past as "boy love", is used to describe non-sexual homosexuality in either adult male characters or younger male characters. When manga or anime depicts sexual activities between young boys, or young boys with adults (male or female), it is known as "shotacon

Shotacon

, sometimes shortened to , is a Japanese slang portmanteau of the phrase and describes an attraction to young boys, or an individual with such an attraction. Outside Japan, the term is used less often with this meaning. It refers to a genre of manga and anime wherein pre-pubescent or pubescent...

", which should not be confused with "shōnen-ai".

Among the large fan demographics in Western countries, this terminology is more or less condensed to "yaoi" and "shōnen-ai"; "yaoi" is used in reference to graphic descriptions of homosexual sex and/or adult drama, and "shōnen-ai" is used in reference to romantic situations with younger characters.

Gei-comi ("gay-comics") are gay-romance themed comics aimed at gay men. While yaoi comics often assign one partner to a stereotypical heterosexual female role, gei-comi generally depict both partners as masculine and in an equal relationship.

Lesbian-romance themed anime and manga is known as yuri (which means "lily"). Yuri is used as a catch-all term, much more so than yaoi; it is used to describe female-female relationships in material marketed to straight men, straight women, or lesbians, despite significant stylistic and thematic differences between works aimed at these different audiences. Another word that has recently become popular in Japan as an equivalent of yuri is "GL" (meaning "Girls' Love" and obviously inspired by "Boys' Love"). Unlike yaoi, yuri is aimed at a more widespread audience. There are a variety of yuri titles (or titles that heavily integrate yuri content) aimed at women, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena
Revolutionary Girl Utena
is a manga by Chiho Saito and anime directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. The manga serial began in the June 1996 issue of Ciao and the anime was first broadcast in 1997. The anime and manga were created simultaneously, but, despite some similarities, they progressed in different directions. A movie, was...

, Oniisama E, Maria-sama ga Miteru
Maria-sama ga Miteru
, often shortened to , is a series of Japanese light novels written by Oyuki Konno and illustrated by Reine Hibiki. The series focuses on a group of teenage girls attending Lillian Catholic school for girls in Tokyo, Japan. Its storyline largely revolves around the lives and close relationships of...

, Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...

(most notably the third season, as well as the fifth season), Strawberry Shake Sweet
Strawberry Shake Sweet
is a Japanese yuri manga written and illustrated by Japanese manga author Shizuru Hayashiya. It was originally titled Strawberry Shake while it was serialized in the manga magazine Yuri Shimai, though the title was changed when the manga began serialization in Yuri Hime. The first bound volume was...

, Love My Life
Love My Life
is an internationally famous Japanese josei manga by Ebine Yamaji. It was originally serialized in the josei magazine Feel Young, and collected in a single tankōbon volume released in September 2001. The single volume has been translated into Mandarin and released by Taiwan Kadokawa and is...

, etc.; and there are a variety of yuri titles (or titles that heavily integrate yuri content) aimed at men, such as Kannazuki no Miko
Kannazuki no Miko
is a manga series created by the duo Kaishaku. The series was serialized in fourteen chapters by Kadokawa Shoten and in Shōnen Ace in 2004 and 2005, and collected in two bound volumes. The series was adapted as an anime television series broadcast in 12 episodes on TNK between October and December...

, Strawberry Panic!
Strawberry Panic!
is a series of Japanese fictional illustrated short stories written by Sakurako Kimino, which focus on a group of teenage girls attending three affiliated all-girl schools on Astraea Hill. A common theme throughout the stories is the intimate lesbian relationships between the characters...

(although it was written by Sakurako Kimino, a female author), Simoun
Simoun (anime)
is a Japanese anime television series that was broadcast in Japan in 2006. It ran for 26 weekly episodes from 3 April to 25 September.A manga adaptation was published in three issues of Comic Yuri Hime. The manga shared the same characters and setting as the anime, but presented a different storyline...

, and My-Hime
My-HiME
is an anime series, created by Sunrise. Directed by Masakazu Obara and written by Hiroyuki Yoshino, the series originally premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo from September 2004 to March 2005...

. There are two manga magazines currently running in Japan that focus solely on yuri stories: Comic Yuri Hime (which is primarily aimed at women), and its newer spin-off, Comic Yuri Hime S
Comic Yuri Hime S
is a quarterly yuri manga magazine published by Ichijinsha. The first issue was published on June 18, 2007. It is the sister magazine of Comic Yuri Hime. The contributors are mostly shōnen and seinen manga authors. The magazine is aimed at male readers, and includes moe elements...

(which is primarily aimed at men).

While more yaoi manga exists, more yuri tends to be animated.

Ancient Japan

Monastic same-sex love

Military same-sex love

Middle class same-sex love

Art of same-sex love

Homosexuality in modern Japan

Politics and law

Popular culture

Media

See also

Further Reading

Sexuality in ancient Japan

English Sources

Other