Pink Samurai: Love, Marriage and Sex in Contemporary Japan

by Nicholas Bornoff

A probing look at Japanese sexuality, relationships, and love combines serious reporting and exhaustive research to offer a deeper understanding of the relations between the sexes in Japan

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, History, Sociology, Sexuality, Asia, Asian Literature

479 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of things wrong with it, in my opinion. First, and possibly the worst, is that it is on the verge of becoming outdated. Researched almost 20 years ago, much of what Bornoff talks about is no longer accurate of current Japanese culture, but that is always one of the problems of books on popular culture. It now could be used as a historical reference but for several reason that I will go into below.

The next serious issue of the book is that the author seems to have no understanding of how to use sections and topic sentences. I've rarely read a book that rambles as much as this one did, in both large and small scales. For one, on my version of the book (paperback), the subtitle is "An erotic exploration of Japanese society," which varies slightly from the hardback's "Love, marriage, and sex in contemporary Japan." Either way, we've got a pretty defined area of research here, not to mention one with a lot of material, and yet Bornoff can't keep himself from wandering all over the back story of completely unrelated Japanese history and cultural institutions. One might think it is done to give a more complete understanding of his topic (when you can figure it out), but rarely does it fulfill such a function. Most of the time, it came off as Bornoff showing off his knowledge, whether it was needed or not. And then there are the chapters and chapter sections, neither of which are given to flow logically. Bornoff hops from one semi and/or un-related topic to the next, sometimes coming back around to what he started with, sometimes finishing his thoughts in another section entirely. I found it completely frustrating to read, as if he were poorly cobbling together hundreds of smaller articles.

In addition to finding it disjointed, there were also time when I found it offensive. Bornoff claims that he's treating the topic of sex and eroticism nonjudgmentally, but I don't think it holds to today's standards of neutrality. Perhaps there is a language issue (varying connotations to words between British and American English), but to me, terms such as "harlot," "hooker," "whore," and "slut" have loaded meanings that I would not expect to see in a serious work, and certainly not tossed around lightly the way there are in this book. Words and turns of phrases for gays and lesbians were frequently little better, and his entire treatment of female pornography stars was slightly discomfiting to say the least.

I've tried not to become too much of an academic snob shunning the cultural exposes of journalists, but in this particular instance, I don't mind recommending people to steer clear. If you want to read about sexuality in Japanese culture, there are plenty of books written by people who have reasons to hold to a higher standard (peer review, tenure, reputation), and while they might not have as free-wheeling a style, they are by no means dry and dusty tomes.

[Lisabet Sarai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pink Samurai is an ambitious, idiosyncratic and somewhat incoherent inquiry into Japanese sexual mores and practices through history. From the phallic ceremonies associated with Shinto to the SoapLands of Shinjuku, Bornoff tries to show how sex in Japan has evolved and morphed from one era to the next.

This is a huge task; he is not entirely successful. The book is full of intriguing theories, fascinating people and salacious vignettes, but ultimately fails to provide any conclusion or general framework for understanding Japanese sexuality. Published in 1991, Pink Samurai is also quite dated.

I found the book particularly interesting and valuable, in its treatment of the earlier periods in Japanese history, especially the Heian era. It helped clarify for me both the historical progression from one period to the next and the changing social context. Pink Samurai becomes more difficult to follow as it moves closer to the present day. Though I'm hardly an expert on Japan, I've traveled there a number of times. I've wandered through Shinjuku, watched coin-op porn in my hotel room, and visited a sex museum. I found it hard to connect what I've seen (almost all during the 21st century) with the repression and inter-gender divides that Bornoff discusses.

Usually I give my (print) books away after I read them, to forestall being buried by them. I'll probably hold on to this one for reference, though, in case I decide I want to write a Heian-period romance.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sensationalistic pop-sociology written from an outsider's perspective on the admittedly unusual culture of sex in Japan. It reads like an indictment of a culture that Bornoff regards as fustian and rather duplicitous in its overall social standards, whose various institutions are baroque and regimented by internal cultural hegemony over the course of millennia. Which is not to say that a frank examination of Japan's mores is uncalled for, simply that Bornoff wasn't the one to do so; he neither knew the culture well (as often only insiders can, despite the expected bias being an insider creates) nor did he seem to have much regard for it. While undoubtedly based on factual evidence, this particular reading of the culture ought to be regarded critically and not taken at its word.

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you well know, Japan is male-dominated society. This book highlights the power of sex held by the women of Japan in contemporary Japanese society. Giving various examples in Japanese society. I read this book and used themes from it for my senior thesis which touched on female discrimination in Japan and how contemporary Japanese women rebel. This book is a great read ever for those that don't have a thorough grasp or background in Japanese society. You'll be amazed on some of the topics in this book.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little sleazy. I'm sure every city has it's sex district which caters to the 'unusual'. But, the perspective on Japanese sexual repression is interesting and one I can agree with from my personal observation in that counry.

[Ethan Bagley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very interesting look at the sexuality (and history of sexuality) in Japan. I couldn't really get engaged with the book, though the subject matter was pretty provocative. Too much depth in a topic that I didn't have enough interest in, I'm afraid.

[Noreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not well written, and repetitious

[Daniel Warriner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although lengthy and somewhat outdated, Pink Samurai is comprehensive and can serve as a useful resource. I learned quite a bit, especially from the first three or four hundred pages (covering historical myths and sex in the Heian period up to Edo (Yoshiwara, Shinmachi, etc.) and Meiji–Showa eras). Reading the latter half I got a better sense of how much has changed here for women since the 90s when I moved to Tokyo, and also of changes in the red-light districts, late-night TV, newsstand mags, fetishisms and so forth. Glad I'm finished with it though; roughly 700 pages is a lot of sex.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because this book is rather old for a book about modern culture, it's expectedly going to be out-of-date but I don't necessarily see this as a problem in itself. Sometimes that's what makes reading books like this good: they accurately capture a moment in time. However, this one feels outdated not just because of the discussions about current gender ideas at the time it was written but more so because of the way the topic is written about. The book kind of has this vibe of "isn't it WEIRD" that I found off-putting. Aside from the tone, the language itself is often kind of needlessly flowery in a way that had me rolling my eyes a lot.

In addition to these two points, the most frustrating thing about this book was the way it was structured. It's a hefty tome and a book this long needs good organization and this book didn't have it. I wouldn't say I'm an expert on Japanese culture but I do have a minor in it and the whole time I kept thinking, "Wait, why are we talking about that now?" It starts with some mythology that then turns into talking about love hotels for some reason, then it talks about family structure and kind of the courting rituals of the Heian era, but it also bounces around to different time periods later on (sometimes with little connection to the stated topic of relationships in modern Japan), and then it gets into the sex industry in a lot of detail, a very, very brief section about queerness, and then some ending stuff on gender politics in the modern day. I experienced a lot of whiplash from topic changes.

I think if you are not especially well versed in the history of relationships and sex in Japan, this will give you a solid, if outdated, background but you'll have to get past the tone, purple prose, and text structure and that might be a big ask.

[William Irvine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book provides a tour of some of the more quirky aspects of love, sex and marriage in modern Japan. As such I found it thoroughly entertaining and engaging with plenty of LOL moments. For this it easily warrants 3 stars.

I don't believe Nicholas Bornoff's intention was to write a serious scientific study - for it to be read as such it would need to be more thorough, comprehensive (eg unlike the chapter on Japan in Pamela Druckerman's 'Lust In Translation', not all that much is written about what's happening for the salary men's wives) - but perhaps this would be at the expense of some of the entertainment value. Worth reading.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicolas Bornoff takes the reader on a magical journey through the history of sex in Japan beginning with the mythic creation story of Japan to the contemporary practices of young people, and the mysterious world of the sex trade. Insightful and often hilarious. Examples" love hotels, "no panty bars", soapland..to name a few.

My professor of Japanese Contemporary history recommended this to the class in 1991. Fun without being judgemental and/or oversimplifying the Japanese as "weird and wacky Asians".

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's writing style is good enough to make reading enjoyable for the most part, but not the sort where one savors every word. There's plenty of information, often told with a somewhat off-putting "looking in on those weird Japanese" attitude, though at other times, such as in the passages about "shunga" erotic art, that annoyance is absent.

For the curious; probably too old and unscientific to be used for academic research.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the historical information and commentary of the first 2/3 of this book.
8-6-2017 I think I should expand on this a little, so....
Addendum:
The last 1/3 or so of the book was rather too close to the action. Where the brothel districts are, what kind of services might be provided, etc... not enough history and more detailed information on the subject than I cared about.

[Lauren]

This is terrible writing at its zenith. Pointless, goofily penned anecdotes that seem more made up than accurate, scant hard research, lackluster attempts at titillation. Nicholas Bornoff is, apparently, some sort of journalist, and I don't think he's qualified to write any of what he did, no matter how long he lived in Japan.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whilst this was written a good twenty or so years ago, it still seems quite relevant and informative for today. Even if some things have changed as they often do, it documents the history of sexual attitude in Japan extremely well, going back to the time of Samurai and the attitude in the countryside versus that of the city.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is interesting, but as Bornoff does not include any references or cite sources, I cannot give it five stars. The text is presented as a sort of anthropological study of sexuality in Japan, but it is far from scientific. Had there been references so that readers could check his facts, it would have been much more credible.

[Yenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ketemu buku ini di rak buku, belinya waktu awal kuliah berarti tahun 93-94. Mengenai isinya ya udah lupa deh, abis dah kelamaan, cuma kalo liat dari covernya kayaknya seru...hehehe..

[Robert Fillpot]

Good book. Just quoting the review of the book here: "To the Western mind, the Japanese attitude toward sex is at once bizarrely structured yet refreshingly frank. In a land where marriages can still be arranged and a woman s place is most definitely in the home, love hotels dot the landscape and late-night television is brazenly risqué by Western standards. Censorship is perverse: no pubic hair may be shown, yet violent porno-comics featuring gang-rape and mutilation are openly read on the train. Homosexuality has a long, venerable history of tolerance, but an office worker gay or not will forgo promotion if he doesn't marry. These are just some of the paradoxes explored in this provocative book. Written nearly a decade ago, but still timely, this is an eye-opening examination of Japanese love, marriage, and eroticism."

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book is very much hampered by its date. "Contemporary", at the time of the book's writing, was Japan in the mid to late 1980s - and presumably beyond even the hint of the eventual catastrophic bubble burst of the 1990s. Still, it's a fascinating little time capsule of a book, and has to be read as such. It's from a very much male perspective - a perspective, at times, that seems completely bewildered as to why feminism and anti-porn crusaders were starting to take hold. While Bornoff doesn't shy away too much from the fact that women were often sold into prostitution, there's not a lot of ink spilled as to what sort of a life that would actually mean. The male-centered approach ramps up towards the end of the book, almost making it unreadable - which, ironically, foreshadows the current state of Japan now.

[Maha Aoki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am absolutely astonished as to how well-read the author is with Japanese classic novels; the connections he made to each concept with Japanese classic literature kept my attention throughout and gave me a brand new appreciation for its culture.

[Naomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping for it to be more than what it was I guess...

[Steph Fulton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible writing mixed in with some interesting facts. It kept jumping all over the place.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating! (I read this while I was teaching in a Japanese middle school with a paper book cover on it at all time! - someone had broken the spine to open at the pictures of sexualized high school girls which was very awkward).

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Although the author may have enjoyed his “research” for this book, it certainly does not come across in the writing. Also now extremely dated....