Modern Pulp

January 23 2023

SCENES FROM AN OFFICE

The lady is a tramp, and the director is a scamp.

Junko Mabuki is back on Pulp Intl., as you see on this poster for the roman porno movie Dan Oniroku OL nawa dorei, known in English as Office Lady Rope Slave. It premiered in Japan today in 1981, and basically, Junko plays a straight-laced nine-to-fiver who gets involved with a pair of bondage fetishists. These types of films were, of course, her specialty, and she once again gives viewers everything they’d become accustomed to seeing. But we’re less interested in the plot of the movie than the reaction at Japan’s censorship board Eiga Rinri KikÅ. Adherence to its restrictions was ostensibly voluntary on the part of film studios, but the body had real enforcement power. Dan Oniroku OL nawa dorei must have shaken the place to its foundations.

Let’s set the scene. One of the censors has shown up at the Eiga Rinri KikÅ office for an emergency meeting with the board chief. He and the other members of the body are proud of themselves for their work, which basically just hews to Japanese obscenity standards by forbidding shots of sex organs and pubic hair. But they never really thought it out from the perspective of directors determined to skirt the edges, which suddenly is happening with increasing frequency. Now at least one censor is in a tizzy. He’d be even more agitated if he knew digital technology would make roman porno films globally available, and thus decades later raise uncomfortable questions about Japanese culture and misogyny, but at this point he has no clue about that.

Censor: I’m beginning to think our censorship regime has backfired. I just screened Dan Oniroku OL nawa dorei and that fucker Katushiko shows dripping semen.

Chief: We didn’t ban that?

Censor: No. We overlooked it.

Chief: Well, what’s a little semen?

Censor: It’s dripping from Mabuki Junko’s mouth. He also shows vaginal juices, vaginal blood, and strongly implies that Mabuki-kun gets her clitoris clothes-pinned.

Chief: Hmm… that does sound provocative.

Censor: I watched it twice just to be sure of my eyes. It’s depraved. Additionally, there’s all the usual bondage, some bizarre insertions, an enema, oral sex both heterosexual and lesbian…

Chief: All this without violating a single one of our rules?

Censor: Nothing is actually shown. It seems quite revealing, though, because, well, Mabuki-kun is a very good actress. Great boobs too.

Chief: Agreed. Mabuki-kun has excellent boobs.

Censor: But in general, it feels like these roman porno directors are ridiculing our censorship standards. There’s even a moment—I swear—when I felt like the actors looked directly at me and sneered.

Chief: Now you’re being paranoid. Regarding the standards, we could change them, make them more restrictive, but it’s hell keeping Nikkatsu and the other studios in line already. Any alteration now may cause serious problems.

Censor: *sigh* But the semen…

Chief: What’s a little semen? So, that screener is VHS?

Censor: Betamax. It’s a better format. Soon everything will be Betamax. I have it with me.

Chief: I better check it out—just to confirm your findings. Leave it by the Beta player over there, and close the door on your way out. Also, tell my secretary I’m not to be disturbed for ninety minutes.

Okay, a scornful look for the censorship board on one… two… and now!

At first I thought this was a citrus reamer, but now I’m not sure.

How the hell do you expect me to flush this way?

I’ll help him. I’ve been hiding in the shower the whole time.

I have to take a short break. There’s an office pool on my chair.

We’ll all have what she’s having!

Japan, Nikkatsu, Dan Oniroku OL nawa dorei, Office Lady Rope Slave, Junko Mabuki, Asami Ogawa, Miki Yamaji, Yôko Azusa, Oniroku Dan, Katsushiko Fuji, poster art, cinema, pinku, roman porno, movie review

Modern Pulp

May 17 2022

HER MAJESTY’S DISSERVICE

Of all the different types of queens, I had to be the damn queen of S&M.

Maybe Junko Mabuki wasn’t the queen of Nikkatsu Pictures’ roman porno cycle, but she was certainly one of its major figures, and oh, the ordeals she went through in her fifteen films. This poster that has her looking like she somehow got stuck inside Batman’s mask was made for Dan Oniroku hakui nawa jigoku, known in English as White Uniform in Rope Hell and—unfortunately—All Women Are Whores. We couldn’t locate the movie, which caused us to breathe a sigh of relief. But if you want to know what Mabuki was all about, cinematically speaking, the films of hers we have watched include (English titles only) Female Teacher: Rope Hell, Female Beautician Rope Discipline, Secretary Rope Discipline, and Blazing Bondage Lady. Those titles should answer any questions. We also watched her in Hell of Roses, which, while its title seems to suggest a thematic and tonal change from Mabuki’s usual fare, is also about ropes. Dan Oniroku hakui nawa jigoku premiered in Japan today in 1980.

Japan, Nikkatsu, Dan Oniroku hakui nawa jigoku, White Uniform in Rope Hell, All Women Are Whores, Junko Mabuki, Yuko Assagiri, Dan Oniroku, poster art, roman porno, pinku, cinema, kinbaku, shibari, bdsm

Modern Pulp

May 29 2020

KNOT ENOUGH

Once is bad luck. Twice is a trend. Six times looks more like a career choice.

Yes, Junko’s back. Counting this movie—Dan Oniroku onna hisho nawa chyokyo, also known as Secretary Rope Discipline—we’ve now watched six of Miss Mabuki’s roman porno outings, and what can we say? They’re all crazy. In fact, sources say she retired because her body couldn’t stand up to all the kinbaku in these flicks. This time around she’s a worker at a fashion house, mostly filing and typing her days away. But she’s also stealing trade secrets. When she’s caught, she refuses to reveal who put her up to it, and to make her talk, the company’s chairman… well, you can figure out what happens next. It involves ropes, whips, and enemas.

There’s a subplot. Does anyone care? Okay, her boyfriend is a cheating dawg. He even does it right in front her because he’s a terrible guy. It gets worse and worse for Junko. Later the chairman’s son takes a liking to her and assumes the duties of disciplining her, which leads to her being forcibly tattooed—a standard and terribly disturbing motif in these films. The two plot streams intertwine, so to speak, in a final manic orgy. We knew fashion was a tough industry, but we had no idea it was anything like this. Next time you buy a new outfit, try to remember the pain and suffering that went into it. Dan Oniroku onna hisho nawa chyokyo premiered today in 1981.

Japan, Dan Oniroku onna hisho nawa chyokyo, Secretary Rope Discipline, Junko Mabuki, Jun Nakahara, poster art, cinema, pinku, roman porno, sexploitation, kinbaku, shibari, bdsm, nudity, movie review

Modern Pulp

September 29 2019

CAGED HEAT

Junko Mabuko is unjustly detained yet again.

t’s Junko Mabuki again, beset by her usual troubles on this poster for the roman porno flick Dan Oniroku joen fujin, which premiered in Japan today in 1980. This movie seems to have been retitled for its English language release either Blazing Bondage Lady or Madam Rope Flame. Different sites say it’s one or the other, but both titles kind of mean the same thing, so both are probably correct.

How does Junko get caged? It’s her husband’s fault. He accidentally runs over a woman who’s a star S&M performer and her widower shows up to claim Junko as his own (and as a bonus also kidnaps her sister, played by the ethereal Izumi Shima). Junko’s captor introduces her to aspects of bdsm such as whipping and enemas (always a favorite of roman porno flicks), and her shame and resistance eventually turn to acceptance and pleasure.

Mabuki burst onto the roman porno scene in 1979 and in 1980 made a dozen films. Nikkatsu thought they had another Naomi Tani on their hands and even staged a press conference at which they introduced Mabuki to the assembled journalists while she was done up in bondage gear. These types of publicity stunts weren’t unusual for Nikkatsu. They had barely enough time to congratulate themselves for finding a new star when in 1982 Junko abruptly retired.

But Mabuki left behind more than a dozen films and established herself as one of the era’s most popular stars. Even so, we rarely recommend these movies and can’t recommend this one either, but we love roman porno posters, which taken out of context are always amazing art pieces. Junko is like art too, below. Rest assured, this is not the last we’ll see of her.

Japan, Nikkatsu, Dan Oniroku joen fujin, Junko Mabuki, Izumi Shima, Oniroku Dan, poster art, cinema, pinku, roman porno, bdsm, shibari, kinbaku, nudity, movie review

Modern Pulp

July 5 2018

TINGLING SENSATION

There's nothing quite as awe inspiring as an ocean view.

This is one of the more eye-catching posters you’ll see. It was made for the Japanese film Waka-goke ama: Uzuku. The movie’s English title is supposedly—ready for this?—Nympho Diver: Tingling. Well, we’re tingling a bit already. Junko Mabuki gets top billing here, but that’s actually Rumi Sasaki adorning the poster because Nikkatsu never passed up a chance to put a naked woman on its promo art. The same has been said of our website, so we aren’t criticizing. In any case, this is obviously another film centered around an ama—a female diver for pearls, abalone, and other aquatic treats. In this one you have a widowed ama who gets involved in kinky business in a seaside town. These movies are basically all the same, so we don’t have to get into great detail—although we’ll note there’s a bizarre scene where Junko puts peanut butter on her body and has a dog lick it off. We know—it sounds utterly obscene. Really, there’s very little Japanese filmmakers didn’t try at some point or another, but always remember that though the plot devices in these may be crazy, the sexual content is never more explicit than your basic late night cable movie. Sorry to disappoint any dog lovers out there. Waka-goke ama: Uzuku premiered in Japan today in 1980

Japan, Nikkatsu, Waka-goke ama: Uzuku, Nympho Diver: Tingling, Junko Mabuki, Rumi Sasaki, Eri Anzai, poster art, cinema, pinku

Modern Pulp

December 5 2017

NO BED OF ROSES

Junko Mabuki gets deflowered.

We just saw Junko Mabuki last week, and here she is again in the roman porno vehicle Dan Oniroku bara jigoku, which is known in English as Hell of Roses. Oniroku Dan was Japan’s perv laureate of erotic bondage literature, and he became so famous that his name often appeared on the front of movies adapted from his material. And his material was pretty fringy stuff, at least by our standards. Last week’s Oniroku Dan movie was centered around a slimy photographer’s bondage obsession. This time there are two photographers, working in tandem to produce bdsm shots of young women who don’t have any real idea what they’ve signed up for. Junko plays a famous singer who gets into their crosshairs. She’d never submit voluntarily, so the two predators subdue her with chloroform and spirit her away to an isolated house. Once she awakens she puts up a real fight and even manages to bloody one of her captors, but she still ends up caged, roped, dildoed, etc., and then there’s that roman porno pee thing again. And a snake. And a kinky blood fixation. But you know what this movie doesn’t have? Roses. Go figure. Dan Oniroku bara jigoku premiered today in 1980.

Japan, Nikkatsu, Dan Oniroku bara jigoku, Hell of Roses, Junko Mabuki, Oniroku Dan, roman porno, pinku, poster art, cinema, bdsm, shibari, kinbaku, movie review

Modern Pulp

November 27 2017

WEAK LINKS

Junko Mabuki starts a chain reaction.

Junko Mabuki is an important actress of second generation Japanese S&M movies, and that’s her above on a poster for Dan Oniroku onna biyoshi nawa shiku, aka Female Beautician Rope Discipline. What you see is what you get here. Junko is a hairdresser who meets a photographer who shoots bondage and discipline. At first she’s repulsed, but this being a roman porno flick, the thought of it grows in her mind. Meanwhile we meet Izumi Shima, who’s one of Junko hairdressing clients. Junko is attracted to her—and who wouldn’t be? Shima also happens to be the ex of the perverted photographer. It’s a pretty big coincidence, but not the biggest in the film. The photographer also randomly stumbles upon Junko after she’s been tied up and assaulted. It’s just the beginning of a descent into degradation, jealousy, sexual assault, and serious male-driven pee-version.

We’re still trying wrap our heads around the various forms of Japanese cinema. Toei’s pinky violence films usually had cool ’70s street action and ass kicking gang girls, whereas Nikkatsu’s roman porno had submissive women and sexual subjugation. They’re all generally considered to be pink films, along with output from OP Eiga and other studios, but to us they’re night and day. Pinky violence and roman porno represent two big studios in competition with each other, but more and more the patriarchy smashing ethos often embedded in the former versus the sexist subjugation usually present within the latter feel like a corporate level political divide writ large. In this one, though, the sadistic photographer gets his—spoiler alert!—head deservedly bashed in. So lines were occasionally crossed. Dan Oniroku onna biyoshi nawa shiku premiered in Japan today in 1981.

Japan, Dan Oniroku onna biyoshi nawa shiku, Female Beautician Rope Discipline, Junko Mabuki, Izumi Shima, poster art, cinema, roman porno, bdsm, shibari, kinbaku, pinku, nudity, movie review

Modern Pulp

August 28 2015

WALKING A TIGHTROPE

The makers of Female Teacher: Rope Hell needed to learn a lesson or two.

Based on a bdsm novel written by the acclaimed Oniroku Dan, Onna kyôshi nawa jigoku, aka Female Teacher: Rope Hell, is yet another Japanese exploration of the pleasures, pains, and limits of sexual obsession and bondage. Frankly, this one is a bit tedious. There’s a razor thin line between thoughtful and dangerous when dealing with this kind of material. When Japanese films, in particular, end up on the wrong side of that line, you really have a mess on your hands. We understand, yes, that bad men aren’t always punished in real life. But this isn’t real life. It’s just a movie, and punishment is key. In fact, for us it’s the entire point. It’s the only thing that makes these films watchable. But in this case, the abusive male ties up the two objects of his obsession and is tormenting them when one of his candles sets an accidental fire. He and the bound women burn to death. His obsession destroyed them all. That’s the end. Roll credits. Hope we didn’t ruin it for you.

The fixation Japanese film has with sexual abuse is curious. It often occurs for pretty straightforward narrative reasons—rape, or perhaps the murder of husbands and children, or often all three, are the triggers that transform women into terrifying revenants. The mostly thirty-something writers and directors who conceived pinku plots were taking swipes at Japan’s patriarchal social structure by first explicitly revealing a sexist status quo, then allowing feminine power to demolish it. Or so it seems to us. In that way pinku does not differ from blaxploitation. In those, it’s a racist status quo that is revealed and demolished. However revenge movies represent only a slice of the Japanese whole. Many films in the roman porno sub-genre feature degradation without revenge, in which case we think it needs to be very carefully done to avoid endorsing such behavior. Major fail on that account here. All respect to Oniroku Dan, but excesses such as a forced enema and subsequent sloppy evacuation are not things we can get behind, so to speak. Onna kyôshi nawa jigoku premiered in Japan today in 1981.

Japan, Nikkatsu, Dan Oniroku: Onna kyôshi nawa jigoku, Onna kyôshi nawa jigoku, Female Teacher: Rope Hell, Junko Mabuki, Miki Yamaji, Dan Oniroku, roman porno, pinku, shibari, kinbaku, bdsm, poster art, cinema, movie review

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 10

1971—London Bridge Goes Up

After being sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in the resort town of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

October 10

1975—Burton and Taylor Marry Again

British actor Richard Burton and American screen star Elizabeth Taylor secretly remarry sixteen months after their divorce, then jet away to a second honeymoon in Chobe Game Park in Botswana.

October 9

1967—ChÃ© Executed in Bolivia

A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is executed in Bolivia. In an attempt to make it appear as though he had been killed resisting Bolivian troops, the executioner shoots Guevara with a machine gun, wounding him nine times in the legs, arm, shoulder, throat, and chest.

October 8

1918—Sgt. York Becomes a Hero

During World War I, in the Argonne Forest in France, America Corporal Alvin C. York leads an attack on a German machine gun nest that kills 25 and captures 132. He is a corporal during the event, but is promoted to sergeant as a result. He also earns Medal of Honor from the U.S., the Croix de Guerre from the French Republic, and the Croce di Guerra from Italy and Montenegro. Stateside, he is celebrated as a hero, and Hollywood even makes a movie entitled Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper.

October 8

1956—Larsen Pitches Perfect Game

The New York Yankees’ Don Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series against hated rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is the only perfect game in World Series history, as well as the only no-hitter.

October 7

1959—Dark Side of Moon Revealed

The Soviet space probe Luna 3 transmits the first photographs of the far side of the moon. The photos generate great interest, and scientists are surprised to see mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two seas, which the Soviets name Mare Moscovrae (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire).