We’ve been watching a lot of these old Japanese films lately because, well, they’re usually pretty fun. Today we have Toei Studios’ comedic romp Onsen suppon geisha, aka Hot Springs Kiss Geisha, and to cut right to the chase here, Miki Sugimioto stars as a character known as Prostitute with Strong Vagina Muscles. Seriously. But it’s all in good fun. Which reminds us, we feel we’ve been remiss in pointing out to those unfamiliar with pinku, Roman porno and the like that these flicks aren’t pornographic. Sexually discomfitting? Yes. Absurd? Usually. In terrible taste? Almost always. But they aren’t pornographic. Everything is accomplished through suggestion, camera angles and clever editing. Onsen suppon geisha was part of a Hot Springs series, with Sugimoto having debuted in the first installment in 1971. In this one, she’s so good at using that super strong vagina of hers that she can fuck guys to death. In the end, she’s pitted against a sexual superman and a showdown ensues. There’s also a subplot about a mad scientist type who needs vaginal juices to create a potion designed to turn Japanese girls black—see below. Is this where the ganguro trend began? We have no idea. Onsen suppon geisha opened in Japan today in 1972. 

One good pinku deserves another, and such is the case with Koyu Ohara’s True Story of a Woman Condemned: Sex Hell. It was released in March 1975, and the follow-up, for which you see the promo poster above, appeared a mere three months later. It’s almost like they planned to make a sequel all along. Anyway, installment two was called Zoku jituroku onna kanbetsusho, aka True Story of a Woman Condemned Continues, and mainly focuses on new and more devious tortures for Hitomi Kozue and her female co-stars to endure. All we can say it isn’t quite our cup of pee, but we give creativity points—we’ve never seen a woman sodomized with a plant before. Zoku jituroku onna kanbetsusho premiered in Tokyo today in 1975. 

Above you see a killer promo poster for an unknown Roman porno flick made by Nikkatsu Studios, circa 1978, starring Miyako Yamaguchi. When we say unknown, we mean it had no western release, thus has no English title we can use to refer to it. But we can make one up. Based on the characters we recognize, we’re going to give this the English name “Desire in a Grassy Place”. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, we know, but “Tiger’s Wood” was already taken. 

If there’s one indisputably true statement about Japanese cinema, it’s this: they will try anything. 1974’s Hana to hebi, aka Flower and Snake, is a bondage comedy based on a novel by Oniroku Dan, who specialized in S&M fiction. For the screen version, Nikkatsu Studios recruited reliable sexploitation queen Naomi Tani, who had already appeared in a previous version of the same film entitled Hana to hebi yori: niku no shiiku, aka Flower and Snake: Rearing the Flesh. Where that version was a mere pinku film, this new version would be a Roman porno—which simply meant Nikkatsu would spend more money in an effort to elevate the genre into something mainstream Japanese would accept. In the film, Tani plays an aristocratic wife who asks for a divorce but instead is forced into bondage and submission by a man hired for the task by her husband. She experiences a sexual awakening, the employee forms an emotional bond, and complications ensue from there. We haven’t read the novel, but apparently it’s very different from the film and its adaptation was a source of friction between studio and author. But it didn’t matter—Hana to hebi was a smash. It was the first of Nikkatsu’s many Roman porno flicks, and the first of what would become a Hana to hebi franchise. It premiered in Japan today in 1974. 

Less than five minutes into Yasagure anego den: sôkatsu rinchi, aka Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture, Reiko Ike is already hanging nude by her wrists being, well, queried and tortured. But as the poster makes clear, her tormentors pay for their indiscretions at the point of her sword. The plot here concerns Reiko being framed for a crotch-gouge murder (self-explanatory, no?), and the featured set pieces include one in which a man throws bullets almost as effectively as if he’d shot them from a gun, and another in which a gang of about thirty nude women get into a melee against various hapless Yakuza. Naturally, Reiko strips down as well, once during a reprise of her nude sword fight from the classic prequel to this film, and once to prove she isn’t hiding something up her sleeve during a card game. She is hiding something, but a little misdirection goes a long way—when she whips off her kimono to expose her tattooed body she also flings the evidence away undetected. The gangster who accused her must pay with three fingers and Reiko—always a friend to other women—spares the middle one because every man needs that one to keep his girl satisfied. Yep, it’s that kind of film. Filled with slapped faces, avulsed digits, and invaded body cavities, Yasagure anego den: sôkatsu rinchi is pretty much everything we expect from pinky violence, and more. It opened in Japan today in 1973. 

Promo poster for Makoto Naito’s 1971 film Porno no teio, aka Emperor of Porno, with Tatsuo Umemiya and Mayama Tomoko. As embarrassing as this is to admit, we didn’t even know Japan had an Emperor of Porno. 

It’s pinku queen Reiko Ike’s birthday today, so we thought we’d post a photo of her frolicking in her birthday suit. Yes, we know you can’t see her face, but it’s a cool shot anyway, don’t you think? It’s clear Reiko has made a resolution to be more porpoiseful in her life. Heh. Um, sorry about that. Puns are an addiction and it's possible we need an intervention. In the meantime, let us make it up to you. Look here. 

Japanese promo pamphlet featuring Meiko Kaji as Scorpion, in the pinku classic Joshuu 701-gô: Sasori, aka Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, 1972.

Now you see how the editorial process works here. Japanese strip club posters get us thinking about Japan and nakedness (duh), and so we promptly post pinku queen Reiko Ike hanging out nude on the seaside being fascinated by her own hands. After seeing her viciously chop off so many heads and limbs, it's good to see her, uh, soft side, right? We were actually planning to post an image of her on her birthday later this month, and now we’ve gone and screwed everything up. Although, like the posters above, the image we had in mind has never been on the internet before, so we may still do it. Check back on May 25. However, today’s image is not new, and following this link will lead you to its source at a kick-ass website we frequent. 

Two promo posters for the Japanese pinku film Tokugawa sekkusu kinshi-rei: shikijô daimyo,  aka Tokugawa Sex Ban: Lustful Lord. Lust is certainly the operative word here. There must be fifty-seven breasts in this film. But girls, there are also close to fifty-seven cocks. See below. Tokugawa sekkusu kinshi-rei: shikijô daimyo premiered in Tokyo today in 1972.