Femmes Fatales

September 30 2024

HAWSER DAY

For the most part, she's hanging in there.

At first we cropped this image of Japanese actress Miki Sugimoto frolicking on a mooring rope or hawser, but then we decided to upload it in the dimensions it appeared where we found it—in a 1972 issue of Heibon Punch. She made this to promote her role in the pinky violence actioner Sukeban, aka Girl Boss Revenge: Sukeban, in which she starred with fellow heroine Reiko Ike. It’s an iconic entry in Japanese pinku cinema, and this is an iconic shot. We have more from this aquatic session we’ll share later.

Japan, Sukeban, Girl Boss Revenge: Sukeban, Heibon Punch, Miki Sugimoto, Reiko Ike, pinku, pinky violence, nudity

Femmes Fatales

August 11 2024

HER INTERIOR LIFE

Let's see how it looks out there this morning. Nope, still no compelling reason to seize the day.

Every day we live the same moment Japanese actress Reiko Ike is living in this photo. In or out? Stay or go? Cue the Pulp Intl. girlfriends: “You mean there’s actually a decision-making process behind not leaving the house?” Indeed there is, but it’s not as if we don’t have fun indoors. We don’t know the date on this shot, as it came to us a single page with no information attached, but we’d guess it’s from around 1972. As we mentioned last time Reiko appeared here, we’re not likely to run out of rare images of her. We’ve had this one sitting around for twelve years, but today we finally found a moment to get it uploaded, and that wouldn’t have happened if we’d gone outside.

Japan, Reiko Ike, pinku, pinky violence, nudity

Femmes Fatales

July 3 2024

UNCOMFORTABLY NUMB

Nice for the camera but very hard on the circulation.

Every time Miki Sugimoto stars in a promo photo we can barely believe our eyes. Here the cult action actress is squeezing her frame—or part of it anyway—into a tight space to get this wonderful shot. Wonderful for who? Certainly not her. She played some difficult roles, but this may have been her hardest. By the time she finished riding the rails for this image we bet she felt like her bottom was full of novocaine. Sometimes, though, you have to go above and beyond in the pursuit of art. Click her keywords below to see amazing promo shots and movie posters.

Japan, Miki Sugimoto, pinku, pinky violence, nudity

Vintage Pulp

April 18 2024

REIKO RIDES AGAIN

Oshida makes her mark and it looks like a swastika.

Above is a bo-ekibari style poster for the pinky violence actioner FuryoÌ‚ banchoÌ‚: Ikkaku senkin, aka Wolves of the City: Fast Money. This piece is cousin to the standard sheet for the film we shared a couple of years ago. Just as when we showed you that one we haven’t located the movie yet, but we’ll keep working on it, if only to find out why star Reiko Oshida has a swastika on her back. We’re guessing she’s in a motorcycle gang, and it’s their emblem. FuryoÌ‚ banchoÌ‚: Ikkaku senkin premiered today in 1970. You can see the other poster here, and that entry also discusses briefly the swastika symbol in Japanese culture.

Japan, Toei Company, FuryoÌ‚ banchoÌ‚: Ikkaku senkin, Wolves of the City: Fast Money, Wolves of the City: Instant Fortune, Tatsuo Umemiya, Reiko Oshida, Bunta Sugawara, poster art, cinema, pinky violence, pinku

Femmes Fatales

March 30 2024

SHOT SPECIAL

All you need is one part Reiko and you'll be completely intoxicated.

Above is another look at Reiko Ike perched on a Kyoto bartop from a 1972 promo series that appeared in the Japanese magazine Heibon Punch. As we mentioned, the location was used in her action movie Sukeban gerira. We’ll try to get around to posting more shots from the series at some point. In the meantime, you can see the previous photo here.

Japan, Kyoto, Heibon Punch, Reiko Ike, pinku, pinky violence, nudity

Femmes Fatales

December 2 2023

ROTATOR CUFFS

She's a woman completely without restraint.

We bet you didn’t notice that Japanese actress Reiko Oshida is swinging handcuffs in a circle. We understand. You’d tend to notice other elements of the photo first, like the knife, the boots, the shorts, or the stripes. This promo image was made for her 1971 pinky violence actioner Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless To Confess, which was originally titled Zubekô banchô: zange no neuchi mo nai. A similar pose was used on the movie’s poster, which you can see here. And if you’re very interested, you can see alternate posters here and here, and Oshida with her crew of sword maniacs here. She shall return.

Japan, Zubekô banchô: zange no neuchi mo nai, Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless To Confess, Reiko Oshida, pinku, pinky violence

Vintage Pulp

December 1 2023

TRIPLE TROUBLE

Three times the danger, three times the fun.

We talked about Reiko Ike’s 1974 pinky violence flick Kyôfu joshi kôkô: Animal dôkyôsei—known in English as Terrifying Girls High School: Animal Courage—a long while ago, but we wanted to highlight this rare promo in tateken format. You can see the original poster and learn a bit about the film here.

Japan, Toei Company, Kyôfu joshi kôkô: Animal dôkyôsei, Terrifying Girls High School: Animal Courage, Reiko Ike, Ryôko Ema, Natsuko Yashiro, pinku, pinky violence, poster art, cinema

Femmes Fatales

October 18 2023

BAR HOPPER

What's a girl have to do to get service in this joint?

In this photo from a 1972 issue of Heibon Punch we see cinema star Reiko Ike, who decided to hit the Kyoto nightlife scene, but after terribly slow service was forced to take matters into her own hands and hop across the bar in an effort to get a mai-tai. In the bartender’s defense, he didn’t ignore Reiko intentionally. He fainted when she came in the door. This is (or was) a real world Kyoto bar that appeared in the pinky violence flick Sukeban gerira, aka Girl Boss Guerrilla, which Reiko had a major role in. The photo isn’t an official promo from the film. At least, the magazine text doesn’t mention it. But we recognized the place. In any case, Reiko got her mai-tai. Until the bartender regains consciousness drinks are on the house, and she’s the toast of the town.

Japan, Kyoto, Heibon Punch, Sukeban gerira, Girl Boss Guerrilla, Reiko Ike, pinku, pinky violence, nudity

Vintage Pulp

September 22 2023

TOKYO DRIFTERS

Oshida and her friends run riot in the capital.

We’re sticking with Japanese posters today. Here’s one for the 1970 pinky violence flick Zubekô banchô: yume wa yoru hiraku, aka Tokyo Bad Girls, aka Delinquent Girl Boss: Blossoming Night Dreams. We showed you two other promos for this film, which were the standard and always fun tateken sizes. This is a rare bo-ekibari.

Japan, Toei Company, Zubekô banchô: yume wa yoru hiraku, Tokyo Bad Girls, Delinquent Girl Boss: Blossoming Night Dreams, Reiko Oshida, Keiko Fuji, pinky violence, pinku, poster art, cinema

Vintage Pulp

August 12 2023

TOP GERIRA

Zero to crazy in under ninety minutes.

We first shared a poster for the pinky violence movie Sukeban gerira, aka Girl Boss Guerrilla, years ago and said at that time we’d get around to talking about the movie. We subsequently shared a tateken style poster, but still didn’t get around to the film itself. Well, it’s finally later. Eleven years later, to be exact. We refreshed our memory with a new screening last night, and to accompany today’s thoughts we’re sharing a rare bo-ekibari style poster of this classic pinky violence actioner from Toei Company.

Miki Sugimoto and three friends, who comprise the small but spirited Red Helmet Motorcycle Gang, take a trip from Tokyo to Kyoto to see if they can hustle up some yen by whatever means they can manage—grifts, graft, blackmail, whatever. They make some cash but quickly run afoul of Ryôko Ema of the Kyogoku Group, head boss of all Kyoto’s girl gangs, which leads to a Ryôko-Miki showdown for control of the city. Our advice: never fight in flip-flops. But then again, we’re not as tough as Miki. She loses her flip flops, but wins the fight.

There’s always a set of bad men in the background of a pinky violence movie, and it turns out that though Kyoto’s girl gangsters are now under Miki’s hard won control, all operate under the umbrella of the Tsutsui Gang, who are basically the Kyoto branch of the yakuza. Miki has to give regular tribute to the boys, obey the rules, or pay the price. She’s

willing to toe the line, but her situation is quickly complicated when she makes a new pal played by Reiko Ike, who’s disinclined to obey anybody, but particularly the local yakuza clan, one of whose higher ups is her big brother.

Along the way to settling this mess you get fights, captures, torture, and nudity. Comedy and romance are part of the equation too, as is a bit of social commentary (a Red Helmet girl picking up gonorrhea from a priest is particularly biting). In the end a final throwdown is inevitable but how it turns out is anyone’s guess. Nothing is guaranteed in a pinky violence movie—well, except violence.

Pinky violence movies can be fun, but the misses tend to be well wide of the mark, if not psychologically disturbing. Sukeban gerira is a nice example of the genre. It’s wild, but never quite to the extent that it makes you want to run from the room. An excellent moment comes just a few minutes in, when Sugimoto aggressively bares a tattooed breast at a set of macho assholes, causing them to physically recoil. That sums up the best pinky violence: a new brand of feminine power that overcame any opposition set against it. Sukeban gerira premiered today in 1972.

Japan, Toei Company, Sukeban gerira, Girl Boss Guerrilla, Miki Sugimoto, Reiko Ike, Ryôko Ema, Naomi Oka, pinku, pinky violence, poster art, cinema, movie review

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 6

1966—LSD Declared Illegal in U.S.

LSD, which was originally synthesized by a Swiss doctor and was later secretly used by the CIA on military personnel, prostitutes, the mentally ill, and members of the general public in a project code named MKULTRA, is designated a controlled substance in the United States.

October 5

1945—Hollywood Black Friday

A six month strike by Hollywood set decorators becomes a riot at the gates of Warner Brothers Studios when strikers and replacement workers clash. The event helps bring about the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which, among other things, prohibits unions from contributing to political campaigns and requires union leaders to affirm they are not supporters of the Communist Party.

October 4

1957—Sputnik Circles Earth

The Soviet Union launches the satellite Sputnik I, which becomes the first artificial object to orbit the Earth. It orbits for two months and provides valuable information about the density of the upper atmosphere. It also panics the United States into a space race that eventually culminates in the U.S. moon landing.

October 4

1970—Janis Joplin Overdoses

American blues singer Janis Joplin is found dead on the floor of her motel room in Los Angeles. The cause of death is determined to be an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol.

October 3

1908—Pravda Founded

The newspaper Pravda is founded by Leon Trotsky, Adolph Joffe, Matvey Skobelev and other Russian exiles living in Vienna. The name means “truth” and the paper serves as an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991.

October 3

1957—Ferlinghetti Wins Obscenity Case

An obscenity trial brought against Lawrence Ferlinghetti, owner of the counterculture City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, reaches its conclusion when Judge Clayton Horn rules that Allen Ginsberg’s poetry collection Howl is not obscene.

October 3

1995—Simpson Acquitted

After a long trial watched by millions of people worldwide, former football star O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson subsequently loses a civil suit and is ordered to pay millions in damages.