| Vintage Pulp | Apr 14 2018 |
If you're lucky she'll let you kiss her there.
Above is a poster we first noticed some years back at the blog Sangre Yakuza for the Nikkatsu Studios roman porno flick Inranna kankei, aka Nasty Relationship, which starred pinku icon Hitomi Kozue, and— Wait, what is she holding? Inflatable plastic lips? A novelty sized cherry gummi? Whatever it is, it's supposed to look vaginal. Pinku movies in general are not subtle, and roman pornos are even less so. But this is not a flick we were able to track down, which is sad, because we'd like to know what's going on here. Not finding films has happened a lot this month but it's just one of those random dry spells that occur when you watch nothing but rare classics. The worm will turn, the yin shall yang, and the cloud shall burst. In the meantime we thought we'd share this promo anyway, weird lips and all, because Kozue is a Pulp Intl. favorite. Inranna kankei premiered in Japan today in 1976.
| Modern Pulp | Mar 12 2018 |
Getting into the place isn't the problem.
In Nikkatsu roman porno the question, as always, is exactly how the script will place the female lead under the control of men determined to use her. In Dan Oniroku kurokami nawa fujin, aka Black Hair Velvet Soul, it's alcoholism and debt. A gambling and philandering husband owes a pile to a slimy financier, so he puts up as collateral the restaurant he owns with his wife. Izumi Shima plays the wife. Because the place was founded by her father and succeeded because of his sweat and struggle, as she notes in a monologue, she sees no other choice but to agree to work off the debt in an S&M club run by the financier. She goes through the usual range of indignities, but in what has to be considered a bit of a twist, she at no point likes it, nor has some inner freak unleashed, nor somehow dies by ironic means. She does her bit, the restaurant is saved, and she leaves her shitty husband. Why watch the movie? Well, because Shima is a shimmering goddess and she's always worth watching. Sixty-six minutes including credits and you're done. Dan Oniroku kurokami nawa fujin premiered today in 1982.
JapanNikkatsuDan Oniroku kurokami nawa fujin団鬼六 黒髪縄夫人Black Hair Velvet SoulIzumi ShimaOniroku Danroman pornoposter artpinkucinemamovie review
| Femmes Fatales | Mar 11 2018 |
Just to be clear—we're not referring to the apple.
Above, a little triptych of photos featuring Japanese pinku actress Meg Flower looking like she's had an encounter with Auric Goldfinger. This is the third time we've featured her as a femme fatale but we actually don't know much about her, having seen only one of her movies, 1972's Wandering Ginza Butterfly, in which she was minor support. She has some starring turns, though. We'll try to locate some of those and report back.
| Vintage Pulp | Mar 5 2018 |
When you gamble with her you're gambling with your life.
Hibotan bakuto: oryû sanjô, which in English was called Red Peony Gambler: Oryu's Return, is the sixth of eight films in the Red Peony Gambler series. Uploading its special round promo poster in one piece makes it kind of small, so we've also broken it into two pieces so you can pull them off the page and paste them together if you're inclined. It's an incredibly 
rare piece, so credit would be appreciated. The movie premiered today in 1970, and stars Junko Fuji, a prolific actress who made more than ninety films during a busy run between 1963 and 1972, and another dozen or so after that.
The plot here involves a greedy yakuza cartel and the downtrodden farmers who oppose the imposition of a new tax. The farmers are basically planning to strike in protest, which angers the yakuza because they stand to loose profits with the yearly village festival approaching. Drastic measures seem to be the only solution, but Junko stands in the way with guile, guts, gambling skill, and gunplay. And as a fallback position she's good with fists and sword. Hibotan bakuto: oryû sanjô isn't quite top tier pinky violence, but it's beautifully shot, the blood flies high and far, and ultimately the film is a winner.
JapanToei CompanyHibotan bakuto: oryû sanjôRed Peony Gambler: Oryu's ReturnJunko Fujiposter artcinemapinkupinky violencemovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Mar 1 2018 |
If it was easy to steal anyone could do it.
We have some nice pinku posters lined up for this month, and above you see the first of those—the tateken and standard promos for Suke Yakuza, aka Female Yakuza Convict, aka Female Prisoner Yakuza, which premiered in Japan today in 1974 starring Yoko Horikoshi and Reiko Ike. Though we can't be sure, we don't think this movie has been released on DVD, because we couldn't find it—the first time that's happened with one of Ike's films. No copy means no firsthand rundown, but we can tell you what the Japanese websites say. It's about bank robbers who steal 30 million yen and try to elude the cops and escape with the cash. Of the three, only one manages to avoid capture. Horikoshi, a female accomplice, is tossed in a women's prison where she meets Reiko, and the two of them manage to escape. Their plan is meet up with the robber who avoided capture, get ahold of the cash, and get for away from the big city, but mishaps and twists follow. Basically, it's sounds like classic Toei pinky violence, but sadly we may not get to see this one unless we go to Japan. But the posters sure are pretty. We have bonus material below—production photos, a Horikoshi promo poster, and a Reiko promo shot from wherever.
JapanToei CompanySuke YakuzaFemale Yakuza ConvictReiko IkeYoko Horikoshiposter artcinemapinkupinky violencenudity
| Femmes Fatales | Feb 25 2018 |
But really, who could ever forget her?
Miki Sugimoto posed for a lot of nude photos. Among 1970s pinku stars Terumi Azuma posed for more, definitely. And probably Naomi Tani too. But we see Sugimoto nudes all the time. These were shot by Japanese lensman Kenji Nagatomo and appeared in the nostalgia magazine Dankai Punch (Baby Boom Punch) in 2007 as a photo feature titled “Remember Zero Woman.” This of course refers to Sugimoto's starring turn in the pinku classic Zeroka no onna: Akai wappa, aka Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs, which you should see if you haven't yet. We'll have more from Miki later. Also, seven years ago we posted a shot from this Nagatomo session very similar to the top image, and if you're interested you can see that here.
JapanZeroka no onna: Akai wappaZero Woman: Red Handcuffs団塊パンチDankai PunchKenji NagatomoMiki Sugimotopinkunudity
| Femmes Fatales | Feb 19 2018 |
She's a stone cold killer but there's another side to her.
This unusually glamorous shot of Japanese action star Meiko Kaji looking hair salon fresh is from the pages of the Japanese magazine Weekly Playboy. It's always strange to see her without a sword or a gun in her hands, but we dig it. The date is, we're thinking, around 1972. The actual image is timeless.
| Vintage Pulp | Feb 18 2018 |
Erina Miyai's world is turned upside down.
Above is a poster for the Nikkatsu roman porno flick Hatachi no sei hakusho: Nokezoru, which premiered in Japan today in 1978. The literal translation of the Japanese title for this is so convoluted and crazy it's useless to even repeat it, but for its international release it was called Brute's Desire, which doesn't bode well. But we love the poster art, and we love Erina Miyai. If the concept of roman porno is new to you just click the keywords below to have all our posts on the subject at your fingertips. Hatachi no sei hakusho: Nokezoru premiered in Japan today in 1978.
JapanNikkatsuHatachi no sei hakusho: Nokezoru20 歳の性白書 のけぞるBrute's DesireErina Miyaiposter artcinemaroman pornopinku
| Vintage Pulp | Feb 7 2018 |
If anybody can recover the ancestral farm it's Mari.
Zoku Imokinchaku*, for which you see the poster above and which premiered in Japan today in 1970, was the sequel to the previous year's Imokinchaku, but shot in color. Atsumi plays a high school girl named Hamako who tries to save enough money to buy her family's ancestral land. Her plan to obtain it through work seems sound enough, but trouble in finances and love, including the theft of her money and a doomed infatuation with a dreamboat who happens to be gay, present serious obstacles. Of course, if the previous film taught Mari anything it was to persevere, and she makes forays into nude modeling and singing in efforts to cobble together a sufficiently large nest egg to buy the land. Do any of these schemes actually work? You'll have to add this one to your queue if you want to find out.
On a related note, we learned that Daiei Co. released an Atsumi record in conjunction with this film, and that it also engineered the publication of a photo book. Cross promotion of pinku films was a common tactic back then. In fact, many stars performed live in cinemas between double features, either singing, dancing, or reenacting bits from the films. Japanese law was strict about nudity onscreen, but we've been told these live performances sometimes featured full nudity, which is interesting to contemplate. Atsumi made a lot of public appearances. Below, for example, she's in Shimizu Park in Chiba, where a gaggle of photographers shot pictures of her in her undies. We have images from another Atsumi public appearance we'll share later.
*We can't find a romanized title for this film anywhere, but Zoku Imokinchaku is probably right. It's at least close. If anyone wants to correct us feel free. The official title is 続・いそぎんちゃく.
JapanChibaDaiei Film Co.Zoku Imokinchaku続・いそぎんちゃくSea Anemone Girl ContinuedMari Atsumipinkuposter artcinema
| Vintage Pulp | Feb 7 2018 |
Nikkatsu pushes the envelope of taste—and social responsibility—with Okasu!
Above, a poster for the roman porno flick Okasu!, which premiered in Japan today in 1976. The title here, in a rare occurrence and complete contrast to the above film, translates directly—Rape! Considering that hundreds of roman porno (short for “romantic porno”) movies were made by Nikkatsu Studios during the ’70s and ’80s we take them seriously and seek to understand them. So we watched this and... we don't understand. Starring Natsuko Yashiro, who you may remember from her female diver movies, and co-starring Naomi Tani and Yuri Yamashina, Okasu! is the story of a rape victim who develops an obsession for her attacker and searches the city for him, constantly exposing herself to similar dangers.
To be clear, we make no cultural judgments here—around the same time in the U.S. on the soap opera General Hospital, Luke raped Laura and became the number one hunk on daytime television. So we're not failing to understand Okasu! from a cultural vantage point, but from a generational vantage point. We don't find non-consensual anything sexy. From our perspective this dubious flick has only two plusses: there's a highly ironic, even grimly comical, ending; and Yashiro masturbates with a walnut, which we never knew was possible. Wanna try it? Follow her lead below. But when you're making your way through vintage Japanese movies give this one a pass.
JapanNikkatsuOkasu!Rape!General HospitalNatsuko YashiroNaomi TaniYuri Yamashinapinkuroman pornoposter artcinemamovie review
