This Just In: Scene from the First Flower and Snake Film

Scene from the first ever Flower and Snake film

I have just received the above photo, a still from the first Flower and Snake film ever made. The photo is from the 10th issue of Seijin Eiga magazine, dated October 1965. The film came out in Japan, according to Japan Movie Database, in September of the same year.

The lady in the photo, and the star of the film, is Murasaki Chizuru. A check with JMDb (J) reveals only four movies to her credit. According to this source, she made her first film in 1954 and Flower and Snake was her last one. Whether or not this is a complete filmography, I don't know.

I can't tell if Yamabe Nobuo was the producer. The distributor is shown as Tokyo Planning (Tokyo Kikaku). Dan Oniroku, the author of Flower and Snake which first began running in installments in Kitan Club magazine in 1962, is listed as the bondage master.

The director was Kobayashi Satoru, famous for directing Japan's first pink film, and the assistant director was none other than Wakamatsu Koji. Also, Tako Hachiro, former Japan national boxing champion, comedian and Oni Pro member, appeared in the film. I wrote a bit about Tako Hachiro in my interview with Sugiura Norio on my old blog. It's still out there somewhere.

Kitan Club covered first Flower and Snake film in August 1965

While Seijin Eiga magazine is a wonderful resource (and fans keep bidding up the price of old issues -- I recently saw one going for over 500 bucks US), Kitan Club magazine, which was dedicated exclusively to SM topics, really has the goods when it comes to the first Flower and Snake film, as you can see here. There are four or five pages of coverage with additional photos.

Still no sign of a theatrical poster for the first of this amazing run of films.

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SM Safari in Jimbocho

A large selection of Uramado magazines

A few weeks ago, I was traipsing around Jimbocho with a visitor from a distant land attempting to find a particular out-of-print SM coffee table book. The book had been published in 1995 and featured the beautiful Asabuki Keito (aka Kate Asabuki). The photos were by Tanaka Kinichi and the rope work by Akechi Denki.

The Very First Issue of 成人映画

Seijin Eiga, issue #1, July 1965, Michi Kanako on the cover

What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is an honest-to-goodness very first issue of the magazine Seijin Eiga (Adult Movies). It's not mine but someone I know was able to get this from Yahoo Auction for a quite reasonable sum, I would say, considering how popular this magazine seems to be.

The mag was first published in July 1965, pretty much at the dawn of the pink movie era. I can't really say when the pink era began (some claim as early as 1962); I guess it depends on your definition of a pink film. But I think it's fair to say that the boom really started around 1965.

Whatever the case, this magazine certainly was a pioneer in its field and it continued publishing for at least 93 monthly issues (or until 1973), however, I don't know exactly when it ceased publication.

Over its lifetime, Seijin Eiga chronicled the ups and downs of the pink film industry, focusing on such actresses as Matsui Yasuko, Uchida Takako, Kano Kazuko, Nitaka Keiko, Katsura Nami, and so on. Top directors such as Wakamatsu Koji were frequently profiled.

Here's a view of the back cover.

Seijin Eiga, issue #1, back cover, July 1965

The publisher of Seijin Eiga was Gendai Kobo and its editor was Kawashima Nobuko.

March SM Safari

Hizo-ban Fuzoku Gaho magazine, July 1964

A recent SM Safari yielded the above magazine, the July 1964 issue of Hizo-ban Fuzoku Gaho. I got this at the same place I went to last time.

This is a pretty good mag, especially considering it came out in 1964, the same year as the Tokyo Olympics. I think the best magazines came along in the '70s but I just can't resist some of these more obscure periodicals. This is another one I had never heard of before.

Nichigeki Music Hall and Tani Naomi

Nichigeki in 1933; photo from Wikipedia

The Nichigeki Music Hall, aka Nihon Gekijo and just Nichigeki, was a giant theater complex which opened in 1933 in the Yurakucho section of Tokyo near Ginza. It was torn down in 1981 and replaced by something else.

It was famous for its "Las Vegas style" revues of scantily clad dancers performing choreographed numbers with full orchestral accompaniment. It seems to have been managed by both the Nikkatsu and Toho film studios at various times in its history. Some Toho actresses took part in the bawdy entertainment when they weren't appearing in films.

Sunday SM Safari

Photo Rope and Woman, Misaki Shobo, 1970

My Photo Safari turned into a regular old SM Safari this past Sunday when I happened upon a cool used bookstore in a town a few stations down the tracks from where I live.

They had tons of old magazines, including old movie magazines. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any issues of Seijin Eiga (Adult Movies), but apparently that mag is pretty hard to come by.

Mag Review: S&M Frontier

The Showa period began on Christmas day in 1926 and lasted until January 8, 1989 when the new (and current) emperor ushered in the Heisei period.

It doesn't seem likely to me that many SM fans will wax nostalgic about the Heisei period a few decades from now -- but the Showa period? That's a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

Hana Mai in SM Secret Novel Magazine

Remember this lady? Hana Mai, the tattooed temptress who suspended herself upside down in the 1983 Dan Oniroku/Nikkatsu film Hebi no Ana (Snake Pit).

Hana Mai in Hebi no Ana

I stumbled on some photos of her which had appeared in the magazine SM Secret Novel, also in 1983.

Hana Mai in SM Secret Novel, 1983

Five or six years after moving to Tokyo, she was appearing in print and on the big screen.

Hana Mai in the table of contents of SM Secret Novel

According to SMpedia, SM Secret Novel was first published by Sanwa in 1982 but then shifted to a new publisher, My Way, in 1999.

SM Secret Novel

Sanwa also began publishing SM Mania in 1982 and it appears this magazine continued publishing under My Way in 1999 as well.

SM Mania

I don't know if either of these magazines is still being published in physical form but the website is here.

I do know that Hana Mai is still going strong. Here she is in 2012 (scroll down).

Relevant link(s):
Manbou

Christina Lindberg in Japan

We trawl the internetz so you don't have to.

A friend recently visited Sweden so I suggested he hook up with actress Christina Lindberg who would be 61 years young now. Lindberg started out as a nude model around 1968 in her native Sweden and then transitioned to softcore sexploitation films.

Sex and Fury poster

Christina Lindberg with Ike Reiko

In 1973 she appeared in the film Sex and Fury alongside Ike Reiko. According to Wikipedia, she got this gig as a result of a publicity tour to Japan promoting a film she had made in Sweden called Exponerad which caused a stir at the Cannes Film Festival.

Meeting the press

Being interviewed by the press

When I get more time, I'll try to figure out just how many and what Japanese films Lindberg appeared in. Right now I'm only finding two -- thought she had appeared in more than that. Anyone know?

Sadly, my friend was too rushed during his trip to meet with Lindberg-san.

Bakushi and Cameraman Asano Yuu

Thanks to the internet, Japanese photographers Sugiura Norio and Tanaka Kinichi have become widely known outside their home country. These are probably the most recognized names internationally (among SM photographers), but there have been many others who have made an impact in Japan yet remain relatively unknown abroad. One of these is Asano Yuu.

Tani Naomi in Playboy and Adam Film World

I have read that Tani Naomi appeared in a Playboy magazine feature called "The Girls of the Orient" in 1968. I have no reason to doubt this but I still haven't seen the goods. Since it was Playboy, I'd be surprised if any of the photos were of Tani in bondage.

Sometime in the '70s, the now-defunct Penthouse magazine ran a series of Japanese bondage photos. I seem to recall reading that they were taken by a well-known photographer in Japan so I guess Penthouse just bought the rights.

Flower and Snake Timeline and Seijin Eiga

There was a magazine published in Japan a long time ago called Seijin Eiga (Adult Movies). A colleague has a few issues but says they are quite hard to come by. The magazine came out monthly from 1965 to 1973 and was edited by one Kawashima Nobuko.

Most of the information here concerning this magazine has been gleaned from Eigapedia and SMpedia (Japanese). Here is a quote from Eigapedia:

"During its existence Seijin Eiga was the major publication covering the genre, and it is now a significant source of information on early Pink films, most of which have been lost."

Here is another cover for the magazine which I found on SMpedia. It is issue number 15 and appeared in 1967. The cover girl is Yabuki Yukari. Just look at this sweet thing! She looks great even in black and white. Forty-five years ago! Oh my.

Apparently, Ms. Yabuki was both an actress and on the staff of Yamabe Pro, an independent pink film production company in the 1960s.