Homosexuality in Japan

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Homosexuality has been accepted sexual behavior in Japan since at least the 10th century until today. In the past, love between men was even considered the purest form of love. At no time has homosexuality been viewed as a sin in Japanese society and religion (especially Shinto and Buddhism ) ; however, modern sexology and the desire to appear "civilized" has influenced the concept of same-sex love in Japan as well.

legality

Homosexual acts between men and women have been largely legal throughout the history of Japan. Only from 1872, when the new government under Emperor Meiji based its new penal code on the German Imperial Criminal Code and on English criminal law , homosexual acts were made a criminal offense. From 1880 this was legalized again with the revision of the law based on the Code Napoleon . Since then there are no more laws that criminalize homosexuality.

Anti-discrimination laws

There are no specific anti-discrimination laws in Japan. An exception is the Tokyo City Council , which has published a ban on discrimination in its general work instructions , which also includes sexual orientation . For most Japanese workers , however, it would be completely wrong, at work to come out . It is not uncommon for homosexuals to enter into a heterosexual fictitious marriage due to social expectations (as of 2005).

The Osaka Housing Office provides cheap city apartments only to individuals or married or “married” couples ; the award to two people of the same sex is explicitly forbidden, in the case of an " offense " there is a risk of dismissal (not so in Tokyo).

Homosexuals in Japan have no legal recourse against this and similar forms of discrimination on the part of the state or private parties.

Civil partnerships

About equality sgesetze or partnership laws in Europe is so far only discussed at the local level. As the first metropolis and sixth municipality in the country, Sapporo plans to issue partnership certificates for homosexual couples from 2017. However, like the Hamburg marriage in Germany, the certificate is predominantly symbolic. Nevertheless, it eliminates some discrimination, at least in the municipality. Registered partners are recognized as family members when they visit the hospital, and joint applications for a communal apartment are also possible with the certificate. At the federal level, however, the Japanese registration authorities issue instructions to examine applications for documents required for marriage for " heterosexuality " and to refuse processing if necessary. A same-sex marriage is for Japanese in Germany possible (see. Article 17b EGBGB ), but in Japan no legal validity. Homosexuality is still a taboo subject in the family . Many Japanese report that their parents are probably doing their part, but that's where it ends.

Social recognition

Originally, Shudō , Wakashudō and Nanshoku were the preferred terms for homosexuality. Currently, Dōseiai ( 同 性愛 ) - coined at the beginning of the 20th century based on the German word homosexuality - and derived from it Dōseiaisha (literally: "same-sex loving person") have become the only available terms alongside the English foreign word gay .

The term gay is almost never used when discussing ancient and historical sources because the word has modern, western, and political connotations and suggests a particular identity - one with which even homosexuals in modern Japan may not necessarily identify.

Compare with the West

Unlike in the West, in Japan sex was not viewed in moral terms, but rather in terms of pleasure, social status and social responsibility. While much else has changed, most of this is still true today. In contrast to modern Japan, however, in ancient Japan only the sexual act was regarded as "homosexual" or "heterosexual", not the people who performed it. This shows a significant change that corresponds to an adjustment to western ideas.

Anime and Manga

The genres Shōnen Ai , Yaoi (in Japan Boys Love or June ) and Shōjo Ai and Yuri describe animes and mangas with homosexual content. Shōnen Ai is used for romantic and Yaoi for more sexual gay motifs. They are primarily marketed to female customers. Manga aimed at gay men are known as gay comics ( ゲ イ コ ミ ッ ク ス , gei komikkusu ), but they constitute a niche market. There is also a difference in content in the sense that in Shōnen Ai and Yaoi a masculine, dominant partner ( seme ) and an effeminate, passive partner ( uke ) are often used, both of which have an androgynous appearance ( bishōnen ), while the figures in gay comics, on the other hand, they are very masculine and muscular or correspond to the bear concept.

When it comes to lesbian content, a distinction is made between Shōjo Ai, romantic love, and Yuri, the counterpart to Yaoi. These are marketed to both female and male customers.

Sex life

Japanese sexual morality is one of the most open in the world. For most Japanese, the privacy of those around them, including their sexual life , is not an issue. The openness of Japanese society to homosexuality does not necessarily arise from a particularly liberal , well-thought-out enlightenment , but rather from a general indifference .

In Japanese society, however, homosexual people are often reduced one-sidedly to a queer image, so much so that okama ( オ カ マ ), one of the everyday words for "gay", always carries the image of such a homosexual man. One of the main reasons is certainly the clothing and behavior, which is often associated with the word kawaii ("cute" - often in relation to women), which is a positive judgment in this society , which critics often describe as infantilized . Several Tarentos on Japanese television are openly gay; all tend to show homosexual men as “feminine” and “kawaii” as possible.

Most love hotels do not accept male couples, but more often two women. However, there are special "love hotels" in areas that serve as retreats for homosexual people, some of whom also accept heterosexual couples. The largest and only explicit neighborhood for homosexual people in Japan is Shinjuku ni-chōme in Tokyo (see there for peculiarities of gay nightlife ). In Osaka , most of the gay facilities are in the Dōyama-chō ( 堂 山 町 ) neighborhood . In addition to bars and discos, there are also saunas , sex clubs and hotels . Lesbian events take place regularly. As in other large cities , the bars are spread out over the city. Gay bars in Japan are often not recognizable as such from the outside, and their fluctuation is very high. Shops that are of interest to foreigners usually have English-language websites with a map.

Life as a homosexual

Japanese society makes a sharp distinction between homosexual sex itself on the one hand and sexual orientation on the other. While the practice of homosexual sex is socially tolerated in Japan as much as that of heterosexual sex, it is difficult for openly homosexuals to achieve social equality with heterosexuals. Most homosexuals stick to the Japanese maxim “What you don't know doesn't make you hot” and live out their gay life in secret.

Homosexuality is generally accepted among foreigners (who enjoy the freedom of fools anyway ), (television) artists and in mangas , and in some cases even has cult status ; but nothing else is expected of the ordinary Japanese than that he must of course be heterosexual. Open homosexuality is ignored and rights cannot be derived from it.

Anonymous sex is at least as easy to have in Japan as it is in major western cities and is enjoyed without a guilty conscience. There are practically no violent attacks on homosexuals.

On the other hand, homosexuality is still considered a flaw outside of specific niches . Legally, homosexuals are disadvantaged in many ways, there is no support from society or family. A fundamental improvement in the situation is not expected in the foreseeable future. Many Japanese therefore find it difficult to accept their own homosexuality. This also makes it much more difficult for partnerships than in the West .

History of Homosexuality in Japan

Although a united Japan existed from the 4th century , the written tradition only begins with the Kojiki , which were compiled in the early 8th century . While Chinese sources contain homosexual references as early as the 6th century , similar references in Japan only begin to emerge in the 10th century . These passages seem to be following the Chinese example, at least initially.

Chinese origin of the Nanshoku tradition

The term Nanshoku ( 男 色 ) is the Japanese reading of the Chinese characters for “male colors”. The symbol 色 still means "sexual pleasure" in Japan and China.

In ancient Japan, nanshoku was widely used as the word for same-sex sex among men. According to Gary P. Leupp, the Japanese associated Nanshoku with China , the country whose culture became the basis of much of Japanese high culture, including the Kanji writing system . The Japanese nanshoku tradition drew heavily on the Chinese and, to a limited extent, on the Korean tradition .

Social milieus of the Nanshoku tradition

Monasteries

Buddhist monasteries appear to have been centers of homosexual activity from an early age in Japan. The vernacular writes Kūkai , founder of the Buddhist Shingon sect to having introduced nanshoku in Japan after the 9th century of China from the Tang Dynasty had returned. However, he does not discuss this subject in any of his major works. It should also be noted that the Vinaya , the monastic discipline, specifically forbade all sexual activity; and Kukai was an enthusiastic supporter of the Vinaya. At the same time, however, Mount Kōya-san , the seat of Kukai's monastery, became a nickname for same-sex love.

However, neither Shinto nor the Japanese reading of Confucianism contain any prohibitions. Sufficient monks seem to have believed that their vows of chastity did not extend to same-sex relationships, so stories telling of affairs between monks and young disciples were relatively popular under the name of Chigo Monogatari . Such affairs were mildly ridiculed as long as the passions did not escalate to physical violence, which was by no means unusual. Jesuits reported appalled at the spread of " sodomy " among Buddhist monks.

military

Elderly and younger samurai in a Shudo relationship ( The Flowered Robe of Miyakawa Choshun, 1682–1753).

Same-sex love spread from religious circles into the warrior class, where it was customary for a young samurai to apprentice to an older and more experienced man. For a number of years he became his lover. This practice was known as Shudo , the custom of the boys , and was well respected in the warrior class.

Middle classes

As Japanese society became less bellicose, the middle classes adopted many of the practices of the warrior class. In the case of Shudo, they made the custom more commercial. Young kabuki actors, known as Kagema , became all the rage . They were just as prominent as today's media stars and were in high demand from wealthy patrons who vied for their favor.

Same sex love in art

In Japanese prints there are some homoerotic representations under the Shunga ( spring images). Male-boy relationships or love scenes between women were shown; on the other hand, depictions of love affairs between men of the same age are extremely rare.

Same-sex love in literature

Ancient Japanese sources contain many hidden allusions to same-sex love, but these are often so subtle that they cannot be interpreted beyond doubt. Because expressions of affection among friendly men were common and corresponded to the conventions of the time .

Nonetheless, there are also clear passages that become more numerous in the Heian period . In Genji Monogatari from the early 11th century, men are often moved by the beauty of a boy. In one scene the hero is rejected by a lady and instead sleeps with her brother: “Genji pulled the boy down to his side. […] Genji, for his part, they say, found the boy more attractive than his cool sister. "

The story of Prince Genji is a novel (often considered the first in the world), but there are also several diaries from the Heian period that contain references to homosexual acts. Some of them also refer to emperors who were involved in homosexual relationships, as well as "beautiful boys" who were "reserved for sexual purposes" for the emperors. Other literary works contain references to what Leupp called " gender identity problems, " such as the story of a boy who falls in love with a girl who is actually a boy in disguise.

Homosexual relationships were also the subject of countless works in later centuries - such as by Ihara Saikaku - most of which have not yet been translated into Western languages.

literature

  • Gary P. Leupp: Male Colors - The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan . Los Angeles 1997, ISBN 0-520-08627-9 .
  • Nicholas Bornoff: Pink Samurai - Love, Marriage & Sex in Contemporary Japan . New York 1991, ISBN 0-671-74265-5 .
  • Gregory M. Pflugfelder: Cartographies of Desire: Male-male Sexuality in Japanese Discourse, 1600–1950 . University of California Press, 1999, ISBN 0-520-20909-5 .
  • Mark J. McLelland: Male Homosexuality in Modern Japan - Cultural Myths and Social Realities . Richmond (UK) 2000, ISBN 0-7007-1425-1 .
  • Angelika Koch: Between the front and the back. Nanshoku in humorous stories from the Edo period. Diploma thesis, University of Vienna, 2008 (othes.univie.ac.at/2064/).

See also

Web links

Commons : Homosexuality in Japan  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Queer.de: Japanese metropolis recognizes gay and lesbian couples
  2. ↑ Androphile.org: Gay love in Japan ( Memento of the original from July 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.androphile.org