 Oshida and Co. may have been to reform school but once a boss always a boss. 
First film in what would become the successful Zubekô banchô series, Zubekô banchô: yume wa yoru hiraku, aka Delinquent Girl Boss: Blossoming Night Dreams, aka Tokyo Bad Girls stars Reiko Oshida as a parolee from a reform school who takes a job in a Shinjuku hotspot called Bar Murasaki, but finds walking the straight and narrow a difficult ambition to fulfill. As usual in these pinku films set in and around nightclubs, a criminal syndicate wants to take over, which means she's soon stuck between a resistant owner and an insistent Yakuza. Some girls she knows from reform school have also found spots at the club, and in addition to Yakuza problems, Oshida finds herself drawn into the issues of her friends.
But it's good they're around, these girl delinquents, because when the climactic brawl with the villains happens, Oshida will need loyal friends at her side. On the whole Blossoming Night Dreams is tamer than later entires in the Delinquent Girl Boss series, but considering the sexual violence that began to appear, most would consider that a good thing. Of course, it's always important to remember that these films are counterculture in character, replacing the subservient women of previous eras with badass riot girls who always took violent revenge upon men who wronged them. The formula was both exploitative and pro feminist, with the sexploitation putting rear ends in the seats, whereupon the progressive message was hammered home.
Anyway, moving on to the poster, you may notice that, by a quirk of design, Oshida, star of the film, does not appear to be star of the promo art. The topmost position is given to Keiko Fuji. But a closer look reveals that Oshida gets a full body shot in the center foreground of the art, while Fuji is layered behind. It's still unusual that Fuji is placed where she is, though. While she plays Bar Murasaki's headlining performer, she has far less screen time most of the other castmembers. But she's good in her role, Oshida's excellent, Masumi Tachibana, Yukie Kagawa, and the rest of the troupe are having fun, and everyone deserves credit for making the movie well worth a screening. Zubekô banchô: yume wa yoru hiraku opened today in 1970.             
Toei Company, Japan, Tokyo, Zubekô banchô: yume wa yoru hiraku, Tokyo Bad Girls, Delinquent Girl Boss: Blossoming Night Dreams, Reiko Oshida, Keiko Fuji, Masumi Tachibana, Yukie Kagawa, pinky violence, pinku, poster art, cinema, movie review
 They say you lose heat faster through your head than other body parts, but right now I'm not so sure about that. 
Japanese actress Miki Nakai appeared in quite a few pinku and roman porno films, but if you look for her under that name you may not find her. After starting her career as Nakai she began acting as Tamiki Katsura and was billed that way for at least two dozen films, including Bôkô Kirisaki Jakku, aka Assault! Jack the Ripper, and Semi-dokyumento: Nise fujinkai, aka Semi-document: fake gynecologist. Yeah, we know. Don't blame us. We just work here. The above photo of her keeping her ragamuffin warm dates from 1974, when she was still Nakai.
Japan, Bôkô Kirisaki Jakku, Assault! Jack the Ripper, Semi-dokyumento: Nise fujinkai, Semi-document: fake gynecologist, Miki Nakai, Tamiki Katsura, roman porno, pinku, pinky violence, nudity
 She isn't even remotely done with you.  
Way back in 2010 we shared a promo poster for Joshû 701-gô: Sasori, aka Female Convict 701: Scorpion, as part of a collection of promos from the entire Female Prisoner tetrology. If you click over to that group you'll see it right on top. The movie opened today in 1972 with Meiko Kaji in the lead as the iconic character Nami Matsushima, aka Matsu the Scorpion, and the posters above are the second and third we have for this fun movie. If you haven't seen it but appreciate a little Japanese style cinematic mayhem, we recommend you check it out.
 Sometimes staying after school isn't a punishment. 
Above is a poster for Onna kyōshi: Shiseikatsu, aka Female Teacher: Private Life, a Nikkatsu roman porno flick that starred Ayako Ichikawa and Hitomi Kozue in the story of an obsessive affair between teacher and student. Interesting fact about this movie: Nikkatsu staged a contest for roman porno scripts and Onna kyōshi resulted from the winning entry, submitted by Mari Abe, who benefitted screenwriting credit, a cash prize, and a college scholarship. Thanks to her stroke of genius Nikkatsu was able to milk the Onna kyōshi concept for a sequel, followed by an eight film series. Just goes to show how mainstream these racy movies were. Of course, Onna kyōshi explores scenarios that would be considered criminal today. In fact, there's debate in 2016 whether teachers should be allowed to have private lives at all—i.e. whether they should be role models both in and out of school, and if they fail whether their actions are fair game for judgment and discipline. Ichikawa and Kozue are ready to judged and disciplined below. Onna kyōshi: Shiseikatsu premiered in Japan today in 1973.  
Japan, Onna kyōshi: Shiseikatsu, Female Teacher: Private Life, Nikkatsu, Ayako Ichikawa, Hitomi Kozue, roman porno, pinku, poster art, cinema, nudity
 Apologies for the omission, Miss Michiyo.   
Years ago we shared a poster for a Michiyo Mako roman porno flick and called her a “little known” actress. Well, live and learn. She wasn't little known—we knew little about Japanese film, is what the problem was. Now we know more, which is a benefit of maintaining this website, and we can report that Mako appeared in thirty movies between 1967 and 1976. Today we have promo posters for three of those to make up for giving her short shrift before. Top to bottom: Yorokobi no sekkusu, aka Sex of Joy or Nymph of Delight, Onna zakari: Mishitsu no yorokobi, aka Pleasure in the Secret Room, and 処女誘拐 魔, for which we did not find a phonetic Japanese title. In English, these chracters would read something like Virgin Kidnapping Magic. More Mako posters later. Japan, Yorokobi no sekkusu, Sex of Joy, Nymph of Delight, Onna zakari: Mishitsu no yorokobi, Pleasure in the Secret Room, Virgin Kidnapping Magic, Michiyo Mako, poster art, cinema, pinku, pinky violence, roman porno, sexploitation
 Meiko Kaji finds herself in a gang of trouble. 
Above and below are two beautiful posters for Hangyaku no Melody, aka Melody of Rebellion, starring Yoshio Harada and Meiko Kaji. We've located and screened some of the most obscure Japanese films of all time. But this one, with two iconic stars—no such luck. But we can tell you that it deals, like many pinku films, with the multifarious challenges of gang life. When (if) we find this one we'll circle back to it. For now just enjoy the posters, which are both significant upgrades from anything currently visible online. Hangyaku no Melody opened in Japan today in 1970.  
 Reiko Ike’s pelvic floor exercises pay off big time. 
Onsen mimizu geisha, which premiered today in 1971, stars an eighteen-year-old Reiko Ike, along with Miki Sugimoto and Junkô Tôda, in yet another tale centered on a Japanese hot spring—Toi Onsen on the Izu Peninsula. So what is this about specifically? Basically, in order to avoid losing the family’s ancestral burial plot to debt collectors, Ike is forced to become a geisha, which turns out to be a natural choice because of the muscle control she has over her vagina. The extraordinarily pleasurable sensation she creates in there is akin to that of worms writhing. Yes, you read that right—worms. Warm ones, of course. And this is where the title of the movie comes from—Onsen mimizu geisha, or “hot springs earthworm geisha.” Do you need to know more? This is a classic, with a lot of goofy humor, plenty of bare skin and bikinis, a strong visual style from director Noribumi Suzuki, and some bizarrely aggressive octopi. And most importantly it has Ike, who’s radiant throughout, never more so than when flashing the viewer during the naughty opening credit montage. Maybe not for everybody, this one, but it certainly worked for us.            
Japan, Toei Company, Onsen mimizu geisha, Reiko Ike, Miki Sugimoto, Junkô Tôda, Noribumi Suzuki, poster art, cinema, pinky violence, pinku, movie review
 Whatever you’re holding, consider yourself trumped.     
Back in November of 2014 we shared a vanishingly rare tatekan style promo poster for Teruo Ishii’s Hijirimen bakuto, aka Red Silk Gambler. Today we’ve finally gotten around to sharing the other five matching tatekans, new to any website, and unwatermarked for your enjoyment. Though that may change soon. The stars of these posters are, top to bottom, Hiroko Fuji, Junko Matsudaira, Mitsue Horikoshi, Eiko Nakamura, and Sanae Tsuchida. By the way, IMDB calls this movie Hijirimen bakuto, but many other sources, especially those based in Japan, call it Hidirimen bakuto. As far as we know, both are technically correct, but maybe one of our Japanese speaking friends can confirm that. You can see our first write-up on this film here. Japan, Hijirimen bakuto, Hidirimen bakuto, Red Silk Gambler, Teruo Ishii, Hiroko Fuji, Junko Matsudaira, Mitsue Horikoshi, Eiko Nakamura, Sanae Tsuchida, pinku, pinky violence, poster art, cinema
 The message is pretty clear—get on her bad side and you’ll regret it. 
This beautiful and very rare promo poster was made to promote a Japanese film called Onna banchō nora-neko rokku. In the English speaking world its various distributors couldn't seem to settle for long on a title, and it was called alternately Alleycat Rock: Female Boss, Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss, Female Juvenile Delinquent Leader: Alleycat Rock, and Wildcat Rock. It’s the first of five Alleycat Rock or Stray Cat Rock films, and revolves around Meiko Kaji’s girl gang’s unwitting influence over a fixed boxing match. The boxer is supposed to take a dive for a yakuza cartel but instead wins the fight in order to save face with Kaji and her hotties (two of the gang members are played by Bunjaku Han and charismatic pop star Akiko Wada, so we can understand the boxer’s change of heart). But unbeknownst to Kaji, it was her boyfriend who had convinced the yakuza the bout could be fixed in the first place, and now he’s in deep trouble. Wonderfully lensed like so many of these pinku movies, with the requisite grey Tokyo cityscapes, neon splashed nightclub locales, and shots featuring eight or ten characters meticulously packed into the same frame, Onna banchō nora-neko rokku is a nice all around effort. It premiered in Japan today in 1970.                    
Japan, Onna banchō nora-neko rokku, Alleycat Rock: Female Boss, Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss, Female Juvenile Delinquent Leader: Alleycat Rock, Wildcat Rock, Meiko Kaji, Akiko Wada, Bunjaku Han, Ken Sanders, pinku, pinky violence, poster art, cinema, movie review
 One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you. 
This image made by Susumu Murakami comes from an issue of the magazine Heibon Punch and is a large foldout we scanned in three pieces and put together in Photoshop. You're welcome. It shows Japanese actress Ryôko Ema, who appeared in such pinku epics as Onsen suppon geisha, Sukeban gerira, and 1973's all-time classic Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô, aka Sex and Fury. We've discussed all those movies, but Ema was a supporting character, which is why we never mentioned her before. Omission remedied.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1910—Los Angeles Times Bombed
A massive dynamite bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles, California, killing 21 people. Police arrest James B. McNamara and his brother John J. McNamara. Though the brothers are represented by the era's most famous lawyer, Clarence Darrow, of Scopes Monkey Trial fame, they eventually plead guilty. James is convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. His brother John is convicted of a separate bombing of the Llewellyn Iron Works and also sent to prison. 1975—Ali Defeats Frazier in Manila
In the Philippines, an epic heavyweight boxing match known as the Thrilla in Manila takes place between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. It is the third, final and most brutal match between the two, and Ali wins by TKO in the fourteenth round. 1955—James Dean Dies in Auto Accident
American actor James Dean, who appeared in the films Giant, East of Eden, and the iconic Rebel without a Cause, dies in an auto accident at age 24 when his Porsche 550 Spyder is hit head-on by a larger Ford coupe. The driver of the Ford had been trying to make a left turn across the rural highway U.S. Route 466 and never saw Dean's small sports car approaching. 1962—Chavez Founds UFW
Mexican-American farm worker César Chávez founds the United Farm Workers in California. His strikes, marches and boycotts eventually result in improved working conditions for manual farm laborers and today his birthday is celebrated as a holiday in eight U.S. states. 1916—Rockefeller Breaks the Billion Barrier
American industrialist John D. Rockefeller becomes America's first billionaire. His Standard Oil Company had gained near total control of the U.S. petroleum market until being broken up by anti-trust legislators in 1911. Afterward, Rockefeller used his fortune mainly for philanthropy, and had a major effect on medicine, education, and scientific research.
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