Immoral Indecent Relations Tatsumi Kumashiro Work -

To understand Kumashiro’s project, one must first understand the constraints he worked within. Roman Porno demanded a quota of explicit sex scenes every ten minutes. Many directors treated this as a burden, but Kumashiro weaponized it. He used the mandated indecency to smuggle in a devastating critique of Japanese patriarchy, capitalism, and the lingering shadow of militarism. For Kumashiro, “immoral” relations are those that defy the ordered, repressive structures of family, work, and state. The “indecent” act is a rebellion against the omote (public, formal face) of society, exposing its ura (hidden, private, often sordid reality).

To understand Kumashiro’s approach to "indecent relations," one must understand the economic and cultural crucible of early 1970s Japan. Nikkatsu, the oldest major studio in Japan, was on the brink of bankruptcy. Television had killed the matinee idol. In desperation, in 1971, Nikkatsu launched its Roman Porno series: films roughly 70 minutes long, shot in two weeks, on tiny budgets, with the only contractual obligation being at least four soft-core sex scenes per reel. immoral indecent relations tatsumi kumashiro work

genre produced by Nikkatsu Studios. Directed by the legendary Tatsumi Kumashiro He used the mandated indecency to smuggle in