Vintage Pulp

November 18 2024

FIND YOUR BLISS

Happiness is often in the place you least expect.

Did we just say to quit with the roman pornos while we’re ahead? Well, we failed. We watched a second movie from the genre, and as it’s our third film of the day you might be wondering why this sudden surplus of screening time has arisen. It’s because the girls are out of town. Into that gap we’ve been plugging every flick we can find that premiered this week, including this one that opened today in 1978—Toruko 110-ban: Monzetsu kurage. Known in English as Bathhouse 911: Jellyfish Bliss, it starred Etsuko Hara, Yuko Katagiri, and Yuki Yoshizawa, and right off the bat we’ll tell you it wasn’t as good as Hirusagari no joji: Uramado. But it wasn’t bad either. Huh? Two decent roman pornos in a row? Two in a row without sexual torture? It really happened. Though we should caution—there’s an enema. But a guy takes it, and it’s played for laughs. So… fine then.

In addition to avoiding too much extreme content, this movie is fantastically shot. It bursts with color, and is largely a clinic in composition in that way specific to roman porno where directors suggested explicitness but weren’t legally allowed to show even a single pubic hair. The story deals with a smalltime pimp who picks up Etsuko Hara on the street and turns her into a prostitute in a bathhouse. When the yakuza move in on his operation and take Etsuko away he suffers in the throes what he’s realized is love. But there’s little he can do, save vividly fantasize about revenge. Will he actually screw up the courage to fight for Etsuko’s freedom? We’d recommend getting a new profession, one where the competition isn’t tattooed guys with katanas, but if the odds weren’t long it wouldn’t be a movie worth watching. Feel free to do so. There’s hope for this genre yet.

Japan, Nikkatsu, Toruko 110-ban: Monzetsu kurage, Bathhouse 911: Jellyfish Bliss, Etsuko Hara, Yuko Katagiri, Yuki Yoshizawa, roman porno, pinku, sexploitation, poster art, cinema, yakuza, prostitution, nudity, movie review

Vintage Pulp

August 3 2021

MAGIC ACTS

And now for their next trick they'll turn the tide of war.

First off, the cross you see at the bottom of this poster is not a swastika but a much older Japanese symbol. It’s usually seen oriented as above, or, rarely, reversed like the Nazis used it, but in all cases has religious, historical, or pop culture meanings. We’ve talked about it. The poster was made for the period roman porno flick Kunoichi ninpo: Hyakka manji-garami, known as English as Female Ninja Magic: 100 Trampled Flowers. The movie is set in a time of warring clans during the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan beginning in 1603, and as the title suggests, a female ninja clan uses sexual magic to try and turn the tide of war between the powerful Tsunayoshi shoguns and the Akizuki clan. Working for the shogunate are the Iga and Kouga ninja clans, while aiding the Akizuki are the Fumi, the women of the title.

That’s a more elaborate set-up than usual for a roman porno movie, and indeed, this one will require more than the usual level of attention to keep straight. It takes its historical trappings seriously, with a convincing pre-industrial look, elaborate period dress, and a focus on succession by birth. But don’t fret, fans of the genre—the movie is weird as hell, as roman pornos must be, and you’ll be pleased to know that a virtual who’s-who of Nikkatsu Studios stars feature, including Junko Miyashita, Hitomi Kozue, Yuko Katagiri, Kyōko Kanō, Maya Hiromi, and Yuri Yamashina. What exactly is sexual magic? Let’s just say there’s plenty of vaginal fluid involved, of varying viscosities, used in numerous ways. There’s other bizarreness too, including an umbilical cord that strikes like a cobra. We don’t think the Tokugawa era actually unfolded this way, but to paraphrase the immortal Wooderson, it’d be a lot cooler if it did. Kunoichi ninpo: Hyakka manji-garami premiered in Japan today in 1974

Japan, Nikkatsu, Kunoichi ninpo: Hyakka manji-garami, Female Ninja Magic: 100 Trampled Flowers, Junko Miyashita, Hitomi Kozue, Kyōko Kanō, Yuko Katagiri, Maya Hiromi, Yuri Yamashina, poster art, cinema, roman porno, pinku, movie review

Vintage Pulp

January 3 2021

21 FLAVORS

If you can't find one you like it's because you aren't trying.

This poster was made to promote the movie Nureta yokujo: Tokudashi nijuichi nin, known in English as Wet Lust: 21 Strippers. With a title like that we of course gave it a watch, and it follows an Osaka vagrant named Hosuke who finds a wallet filled with 60,000 yen, and uses it to remake himself into what he describes as “sort of a pimp.” Really, though, he’s more like an aspirant leech, and he soon has a profitable hustle going when he meets Meika Seri (we have a promo image of her below right, squatting in foliage, just because) and shepherds her into earning money for them both as a stripper.

Yuko Katagiri soon enters the fold and she and Meika are shortly having sex at home and doing the same on stage for money. Hosuke, now an unneeded presence, tries to hang onto his meal tickets via guilt and intimidation, but such a state of affairs can only last so long.

This is a Nikkatsu Studios movie, though we aren’t sure if it qualifies as one of its infamous roman pornos. It resembles one, though, in that it resolves in ironic fashion, as Hosuke’s arc ends both fittingly and amusingly. But what you really want in a movie called 21 Strippers is—we’re just guessing here—lots of stripping. Lucky you, there’s a ton, and from a purely aesthetic perspective, it’s interesting to watch the Japanese approach to this art form. Which means in the end, you can pretend the movie is educational. Get out your notepad. We’ll be testing you on the material later. Nureta yokujo: Tokudashi nijuichi nin premiered in Japan today in 1974.

Below is some bonus material for you, one promo image each of Yuko Katagiri and Meika Seri. We also, some of you may remember, shared other excellent shots of Meika which you can see here and here. Including the squatting shot above, it all adds up to a nice little collection. In addition, she starred in the 1974 roman porno flick (Maruhi) shikijô mesu ichiba, aka Secret Chronicle: She Beast Market, which we wrote about here.

Japan, Osaka, Nikkatsu, Nureta yokujo: Tokudashi nijuichi nin, Wet Lust: 21 Strippers, Yuko Katagiri, Meika Seri, poster art, cinema, pinku, roman porno, nudity, movie review

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

April 19

1927—Mae West Sentenced to Jail

American actress and playwright Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for the content of her play Sex. The trial occurred even though the play had run for a year and had been seen by 325,000 people. However West’s considerable popularity, already based on her risque image, only increased due to the controversy.

April 19

1971—Manson Sentenced to Death

In the U.S, cult leader Charles Manson is sentenced to death for inciting the murders of Sharon Tate and several other people. Three accomplices, who had actually done the killing, were also sentenced to death, but the state of California abolished capital punishment in 1972 and neither they nor Manson were ever actually executed.

April 18

1923—Yankee Stadium Opens

In New York City, Yankee Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, opens with the Yankees beating their eternal rivals the Boston Red Sox 4 to 1. The stadium, which is nicknamed The House that Ruth Built, sees the Yankees become the most successful franchise in baseball history. It is eventually replaced by a new Yankee Stadium and closes in September 2008.

April 17

1961—Bay of Pigs Invasion Is Launched

A group of CIA financed and trained Cuban refugees lands at the Bay of Pigs in southern Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro. However, the invasion fails badly and the result is embarrassment for U.S. president John F. Kennedy and a major boost in popularity for Fidel Castro, and also has the effect of pushing him toward the Soviet Union for protection.

April 16

1943—First LSD Trip Takes Place

Swiss scientist Albert Hofmann, while working at Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, accidentally absorbs lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD, and thus discovers its psychedelic properties. He had first synthesized the substance five years earlier but hadn’t been aware of its effects. He goes on to write scores of articles and books about his creation.