Lovesick Japan: Sex * Marriage * Romance * Law

by Mark D. West

In Lovesick Japan, Mark D. West explores an official vision of love, sex, and marriage in contemporary Japan. A comprehensive body of evidence--2,700 court opinions--describes a society characterized by a presupposed absence of physical and emotional intimacy, affection, and personal connections. In compelling, poignant, and sometimes horrifying court cases, West finds that Japanese judges frequently opine on whether a person is in love, what other emotions a person is feeling, and whether those emotions are appropriate for the situation.

Sometimes judges' views about love, sex, and marriage emerge from their presentation of the facts of cases. Among the recurring elements are abortions forced by men, compensated dating, late-life divorces, termination fees to end affairs, sexless couples, Valentine's Day heartbreak, soapland bath-brothels, and home-wrecking hostesses.

Sometimes the judges' analysis, decisions, and commentary are as revealing as the facts. Sex in the cases is a choice among private normal sex, which is male-dominated, conservative, dispassionate, or nonexistent; commercial sex, which caters to every fetish but is said to lead to rape, murder, and general social depravity; and a hybrid of the two, which commodifies private sexual relationships. Marriage is contractual; judges express the ideal of love in marriage and proclaim its importance, but virtually no one in the court cases achieves it. Love usually appears as a tragic, overwhelming emotion associated with jealousy, suffering, heartache, and death.

--Jeff Kingston "Japan Times"

Genres: Nonfiction, Japan, Sexuality, Law, Anthropology

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 3, 2011

Reviews

[Sandip Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating account of how a first world advanced nation leading in technology and robotics can view love, sex, romance and marriage in such a detached way leading to many unanswered questions across generations. How the lawmakers decides that fate of marital relationships in the most vivid yet with a subjective lens... a must read to understand the society and culture of Japan

[Felipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely readable and thoroughly enraging. You will have no trouble getting through the book and learning quite a lot, but, in my experience, you will have trouble not yelling "Fuck you!!!" over and over and over.

For potential readers, it should be noted that the book contains multiple graphic depictions of violence.

[Stephanie Landis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting discussion about Japanese law and culture of love. This book can be kind of dry because of the legal writing, but I found it an interesting read because of all the anecdotes of cases that really illustrate some cultural issues. I felt like I was learning more about the culture, based on the information about the law and the influence and hurdles it has concerning love.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely picked this book up based purely on the cover, so it was a bit outside of my regular reading. The author analyzes legal rulings in the Japanese court system as they related to love, sex, and marriage.

[Ari Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haiku Review:

Forget Mills and Boon / Real steaminess in Japan / Comes from the lawyers.

[Jekaterina Bjalt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly amusing and thought-provoking read, this book examines the intricately interwoven concepts of love, sex and marriage as they appear in Japanese court cases and are subsequently examined and commented upon by the judges in the often lengthy and very detailed court opinions. The author treats us to a number of actual cases he describes at length, drawing nuanced and insightful conclusions from them. At times, a somewhat orientalist, haughty surprise at the emerging picture can be glimpsed, yet the author usually is able to remain respectful of the other culture, or at least retain a detached, humorous perspective on his source material. I appreciated the intricate analysis, the social commentary and the social context the author provides to his cases, and I found his conclusions to be very curious, humanist and observant. A worthy read that manages to be both interesting and informative.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how he did it, or maybe I'm just weird, but I read this book as if it was a thriller. Each page was filled with interesting tidbits about Japanese culture and society as well as legal analyses from both American and Japanese perspectives. Not only was the book very easy to understand, but it was also very openminded. This book inspired me to seriously consider studying law.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

An fascinating read in which Mark West takes law cases and brings to light the culture that influenced them. A great read for people out their who want an informative and at the same time intriguing read. As interesting as the title made it sound.

[Stephen Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite extraordinary. A genuine eyeopener.

[Agathe Schwaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved all the example given by authors on the raising of divorces happening in Japan.