Tokyo, from our correspondent
A bizarre trial took place in Tokyo on February 1. Prosecutors asked the district court to levy a fine of ¥800,000 ($6,840) against the artist Megumi Igarashi under charges of obscenity. Her “crime” consisted of distributing 3D scans of her own genitals. The accused maintains her innocence…
In Japan, Megumi Igarashi, 43, better known under her manga artist pseudonym Rokudenashiko (“good-for-nothing girl”), is even better known for her vagina selfies. Her cute drawings of little vagina Manko-chan had already earned her a sizeable fanbase when she launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2013 to 3D print a giant model of her vulva and transform it into a kayak. The reward for those who pledged ¥3,000 or more? The 3D scan file of her famous vagina, so that each backer could print it out at home, or in a fablab.
In October 2013, Rokudenashiko paddled her “pussy boat” out on the Tama River west of Tokyo. In July 2014, she exhibited another “vaginal” artwork in an adult shop in the Japanese capital. Soon after, the police raided her studio, confiscated her artworks, her computer and her cell phone, and arrested her. An international petition, which collected more than 21,000 signatures, helped in her release five days later. But on December 3, 2014, she was arrested again. This time she was detained for the legal maximum of 23 days under three different charges of “obscenity”. Monday’s trial heard the closing statements of prosecutors and defense lawyers of Megumi Igarashi. Verdict on May 9.
In a country where an entire festival is dedicated to celebrating the penis, where incest, child rape and other non-taboos are illustrated in mangas sold at convenience stores, and where possession of child pornography was only made illegal in June 2014, patriarchal hypocrisy once again rears its ugly head…
Representations of the vagina were already pushing the limits of the local authorities. But the female sex organ allied with new technologies of 3D printing, crowdfunding and online sharing? Now that’s scary.
“Who’s Afraid of Vagina Art?”, documentary by Broadly (August 2015):
Rokudenashiko website (in Japanese)