Tatsumi Kumashiro’s roman porno flick Shoujo shofu: kemonomichi was called Path of the Beast for its Western release, but the literal translation of the Japanese title is something like “Girl Whore Beast Road.” That sounds ridiculous, but it does sum up the plot. Yoshimura Ayako stars as a sex-loving twenty-something who has two horny lovers and thinks of herself as a whore because she can’t say no to either of them. She believes she inherited the trait from her equally sexual mother, and vows not to go down the same road of carnality. You see? Girl Whore Beast Road. Ayako’s assessment of herself may seem a little harsh—after all, if she loves to bone, what’s the problem? Well, reputational issues, obviously, as well as possessiveness issues on the part of her men—and those don't often end happily. But at least Ayako has ample fun in the midst of her anguish. She has sex on the beach, sex on a boat, sex in a shack, sex under the ruined pier, and even sex in a bed. It’s all softcore, of course—if you’ve never seen a roman porno movie, the sex scenes usually look like two people trying hold a water balloon between their torsos, and Shoujo shofu: kemonomichi holds to that tradition with plenty of writhing and wiggling. At some point Ayako learns to accept herself, if not her circumstances, and that’s really what the movie is about. Shoujo shofu: kemonomichi premiered in Japan today in 1980. 

Above, a poster for Tatsumi Kumashiro’s 1968 sexploitation flick Kaburitsuki jinsei, aka Front Row Life, aka Life of a Striptease Love, et al. This was Kumashiro’s first directorial effort, and it didn’t do well. Afterward, he was banished back to screenwriting and assistant directing, which is where he’d been toiling for years, but in 1972, when he was forty-five, Nikkatsu gave him a second chance and he helmed the hit roman porno Nureta kuchibiru, aka Wet Lips. Kumashiro went on to direct many successful Nikkatsu productions. Interestingly, he married his Front Row Life leading lady, Hatsue Tonooka, but they divorced after a few months. 

Above is a poster for Tatsumi Kumashiro’s pinku Akai kami no onna, aka Woman with Red Hair, starring Junko Miyashita and Renji Ishabashi. How to explain this one? Well, it’s a sexual melodrama about a man and woman who embark on an obsessive affair, with a subplot about a gang raped girl who develops an attachment to one of her attackers. It’s supposed to be a commentary on misogyny and abuse, but despite the noble intent, beautiful cinematography and rain-drenched atmosphere, it didn’t do much for us.

However, Miyashita won awards for her performance, and the film was well-received when released, so we’re willing to concede that it’s a piece of art that is firmly of its time (i.e., before our time) and can perhaps only be understood in that temporal and cultural context. As to the latter, we checked out some reviews and a theme that ran through them was that this is a film so Japanese in nature that it doesn’t translate well for westerners.

So you know what we did? We watched it again without subtitles. Since it’s only seventy-three minutes long, we weren’t sacrificing a lot of time. And guess what happened? We understood and liked it a lot better. So take that for what it's worth. And while you’re at it, take the lovely Junko Miyashita promo poster below. It's another rare find of ours, never before seen online. Akai kami no onna premiered in Japan today in 1979.