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51-419: Kanako is a married woman who receives an invitation from Tomoe, a lesbian lover from her past, to attend a showing of artwork by Isaku, Tomoe's husband. Isaku's paintings have an S&M theme which surprises Kanako. Tomoe persuades Kanako to begin going with her to a class in which she is learning how to behave like a proper female dog. Kanako's husband, Eiichirō, is suspicious about her activities. After hiring

102-412: A German Shepherd Dog . After delving into the extreme and perverse side of Roman Porno with Rope Cosmetology , director Nishimura returned to his usual, more standard fare with his next film, Forbidden Ordeal (1979). Allmovie writes of the film, "Well-directed and convincingly played, the film manages to walk the fine line between the nauseating misogyny of Japan's appalling 'turtle girl' films and

153-470: A loan from his sister's fiancée. When he later comes to the conclusion that he has betrayed his values, he murders his sister. The Weissers, in their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films , judge the film better than Okuwaki's more typical, later work, and conclude, "It's not great filmmaking, but at least this movie manages to be unique within its grim view of life." Suzuki screenwriter Atsushi Yamatoya's directorial debut, Inflatable Sex Doll of

204-629: A lot of torture and bondage." Throughout the 1960s, softcore pornographic "Pink Films" had been produced in Japan by small, independent studios. In 1971, however, Nikkatsu, the country's oldest film studio, had entered the "Pink Film" market with its high-budget and quality "Roman Porno" series. Besides appearing in Nikkatsu's first experiment in the pink film in 1968, Tokyo Bathhouse ( Onna Ukiyo Buro ), which featured over 30 sex-film stars in cameo appearances, Tani's first official Roman porno for Nikkatsu

255-403: A minor role in director Mamoru Watanabe 's Slave Widow , which starred major "pink" actresses Noriko Tatsumi and Mari lwai. Impressed with Tani, Watanabe, considered one of the "Pillars of Pink," cast Tani in her first leading role for his next film, Bed of Violent Desires (1967). Typical of the sex-thriller pink films made by Koei studio in the years before Nikkatsu took over the genre in

306-416: A part for fellow "Pink queen," Junko Miyashita . As Tani's farewell performance, Nikkatsu gave this critically acclaimed yakuza period-piece a big budget. Known for her remarkable dedication to her work, Tani would perform even the most extreme of S&M scenes without complaint. During the twelve years she worked as an actress, she never went to the beach or allowed herself to get a suntan, feeling that it

357-416: A private detective and learning about her perverse hobbies, Eiichirō throws Kanako into a landfill. The film ends with Eiichirō apparently taking his dog for a walk. The camera pans down to show that, despite his apparent objections to her lessons, Eiichirō is in fact walking Kanako, who is on all fours on a dog leash. Lead actress Naomi Tani and director Shōgorō Nishimura had worked together previously in

408-610: A prostitute who repeatedly escapes from, and then captured and tortured by the yakuza . Tani would play similar roles for Sakao in other films such as Virgins With Bad Reputations , also made in 1967. During this early stage of her career, Tani sometimes worked at prominent pink film producer/director Kōji Wakamatsu 's independent studio. She worked several times with the prolific director Shinya Yamamoto  [ ja ] in such films as Degenerate (1967), Memoirs of Modern Love: Curious Age (1967) and Season For Rapists (1969). Also during this period she became friends with

459-533: A reviewer commented of Tani's vocals, "There’s a worldliness in her voice and a maturity which suggests she’s seen it all... There is however a fragility to her voice, a cracking sense of the truly erotic, the unseen, the taboo which drapes each syllable... hearing music which would usually be readily associated with a mid-70s Samurai movie bedding down with such muted eroticism is more than a winning formula." Tani notes that she immediately felt much more relaxed upon retirement. "I didn't have to worry about going out in

510-460: A variety of puns in mind when she later opened a restaurant calling it the "Ohtani" (Big Breasts or Big Tani). Tani's early films were principally with the small companies that were making pink films independent of the large studio system in the 1960s. In her pre-Nikkatsu career, she appeared in comedies, dramas, and action films, but it was the S&;M genre which would make Tani a star. Her debut film

561-453: A very short scene at a greenhouse in Rape! The segment was only long enough for her to get assaulted by the rapist." Tani starred in director Kōyū Ohara 's Nikkatsu Roman pornos , Fascination: Portrait of a Lady (1977), Rope Hell (1978) and Fairy in a Cage (1977) which had Tani playing the role of a wealthy business woman who is tortured by the sadistic head of the inquisition branch of

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612-400: A video store near Hakata which specializes in erotic cinema, especially Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films. She comments that "Many young people (in their 20s and 30s) who used to buy the mindless AV [Adult Video] junk have shifted to 'Roman Porn' after being introduced to it." During the late 1990s Tani's work enjoyed a renewed surge of interest. Wife to be Sacrificed was released theatrically in

663-639: Is a Japanese pink film actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu 's Roman Porno films with an S&M theme during the 1970s. Born October 20, 1948, in the Hakata ward of Fukuoka , Naomi Tani moved to Tokyo at the age of 18. After arrival in Tokyo, she was featured in a photo layout in Weekly Taishu / Popular Weekly (週刊大衆 - Shukan Taishu ). This appearance led to offers for roles in " Pink films ",

714-585: Is best known today. Even at this early stage of her career, working for independent studios, Tani had already established herself as the "Queen of Pink." As an indication of her growing prominence as a representative of the erotic cinema in Japan, she appeared in the U.S. Playboy 's December 1968 issue in their "Girls of the Orient" pictorial article. In 1972, she directed two films from Oniroku Dan stories, Sex Killer and Starved Sex Beast . Commenting on her own directorial style, Tani noted, "I accentuated scenes with

765-640: Is hiring the private eye. During the filming of this cult film, Tatsumi and lead actor Shohei Yamamoto simultaneously appeared in Love's Milky Drops using the same sets as Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands . The pink films of this era had very low budgets and were made by independent studios. Pink film directors from the critically respected Kōji Wakamatsu to the critically reviled Giichi Nishihara generally focused on sensationalistic, violent, and often misogynistic themes. Tatsumi, however, became associated with

816-527: Is that of a woman who starts working in a nightclub in order to discover the mystery behind her sister's disappearance. In the process, she finds an illicit prostitution ring. Muddy Uniform , intended as a juvenile delinquent film, became a pink film by default because of its abundant sex scenes. In another early film, Clutches (1967), Tatsumi plays a gold-digger who takes over a businessman's enterprise. Nihon Cinema's Whore (1967) teamed Tatsumi with actress Miki Hayashi and director Kōji Seki . The film

867-489: Is titled Season of Infidelity ; the collection’s last story, Bewitching Bloom , is a telling of Dan’s relationship with Tani, and also includes notes about three subsequent Nikkatsu "Queens"; Junko Mabuki , Izumi Shima , and Miki Takakura . Noriko Tatsumi Noriko Tatsumi ( 辰巳典子 , Tatsumi Noriko , born October 12, 1947 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese actress known primarily for her appearances in pink films of

918-541: The Roman porn genre, In the Realm of Sex , Tani appears as herself, stalked by a perverted middle-aged fan who wants to perform an S&M session with her. Tani manages to reverse the roles by binding and torturing the fan instead. Besides Konuma, Tani worked for many of the other most prominent Roman porno directors while at Nikkatsu. "Violent pink" director Yasuharu Hasebe commented, "I regret that I only worked with her once...

969-569: The 1960s. During the "First Wave" of pink film , Tatsumi became known as the first "Queen" of Japanese softcore sex movies, a title which she held from 1967 through 1970 . She most often appeared in the films of the World Eiga and Nihon Cinema studios, and is best known for her work with director Kōji Seki , especially Whore (1967) and Erotic Culture Shock (1969). She also appeared in director and Seijun Suzuki script-writer, Atsushi Yamatoya 's influential 1967 cult film, Inflatable Sex Doll of

1020-430: The 1970s, in this film, Tani plays the role of a daughter who seeks bloody revenge against her mother and her lover after they kill Tani's father for his money. Tani's first experience with an S&M film was in one episode of the omnibus film Memoirs Of A Modern Female Doctor (1967), and her first full-fledged S&M leading role was in director Masanao Sakao's Cruel Map of Women's Bodies (1967), in which she plays

1071-477: The Japanese military during World War II. Director Shōgorō Nishimura 's 1978 film, Lady Black Rose , contained two notorious scenes which are often selected as examples of the Roman porno S&M genre. In one, gallons of water are forced into Tani's mouth through a funnel while her stomach can be seen enlarging. Tani points out that scenes like these were often tricks, though no special effects were involved. "I

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1122-523: The Rose , (both 1978). Director Masaru Konuma says as an actress Tani was, "Stylish. No matter what she did-- her behavior, her attitude, her body-- everything became a perfect picture." In his Behind the Mask: On Sexual Demons, Sacred Mothers, Transvestites, Gangsters, Drifters, and Other Japanese Cultural Heroes , Ian Buruma describes Tani as the most celebrated porn star of her time, "combin[ing]

1173-512: The SM author, Oniroku Dan , with whom she would work throughout her film career. Dan was secretly writing S&M film scripts under the pseudonym Matsugoro Kuroiwa while working as a high school English teacher. Tani's "pretty face, beautiful fair skin... and 96cm (38") large breasts" as well as her acting abilities helped make her a popular actress in the late 1960s. She reportedly appeared in more than 200 films before her work with Nikkatsu, for which she

1224-472: The U.S. in 1998, playing in San Francisco , Los Angeles and New York City . In preparation for this event, Tani was interviewed by the U.S. publication, Asian Cult Cinema for its April, 1998 issue. Surprised by this attention from the U.S., Tani commented "I didn't think U.S. movie fans were interested in me or my movies. I thought Americans ignored my films because of the SM theme, since these movies give

1275-424: The Wastelands (1967) is a hallucinogenic film-noir -style satire which became "one of the major cult films of the '60s". The plot involves a rich businessman whose girlfriend is raped and killed by four men. When the men send the businessman a film of the crime, he complains about the film's poor cinematography. While practising shooting targets in the desert, the businessman hires a private detective to track down

1326-469: The Wastelands . Tatsumi made her pink film debut in 1967 . There is some discrepancy as to which film was her debut. Some sources say that Tatsumi's first film was Double Docking aka Two Virgins , while others claim that her debut was in Muddy Uniform . Director Shintaro Kishi is usually credited with launching Tatsumi's career, by giving her a starring role in his Double Docking . Tatsumi's role

1377-435: The all sex-film star cast, Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films reports, "The stand-out among all the succulent beauties is Noriko Tatsumi who plays an extremely passionate nun." Controversial early pink film director Tetsuji Takechi chose Tatsumi as the female lead in his Ukiyo-E Cruel Story (1968). Made after Takechi's imprisonment and high-profile trial over his 1965 film Black Snow , Ukiyo-e Cruel Story

1428-400: The criminals. The private investigator discovers the woman is not really dead, becomes involved in a sexual liaison with her, and then she is again "killed" by the four criminals. The private investigator comes across a shack in the middle of a desert filled with mannequins modeled after the girl. After a mysterious gunshot, the film circles back to the target-practise scene where the businessman

1479-555: The filmmakers concerning Naomi Tani's torture scenes, to insure that they were both cruel and beautiful." Her willingness to submit herself to scenes of extreme physical difficulty led director Shinya Yamamoto to famously utter, "Naomi Tani is a monster!" The quality of her performances was recognized by the mainstream Japanese film establishment. She was nominated for best actress by the Japanese Academy for two of her Nikkatsu Roman Porno films, Lady Black Rose , and Flesh of

1530-412: The first of Nikkatsu’s SM Queens . Tani's female co-star from Wife to Be Sacrificed , Terumi Azuma, would return in the 1975 film, Cruelty: Black Rose Torture , and the two would be paired in several other films until Azuma began starring in her own films in 1976. The title introduced Nikkatsu's nickname for Tani ("Black Rose"), which would be re-used in later film titles. In Konuma's 1977 parody of

1581-496: The form in 1968. In Tokyo Bathhouse , Tatsumi was at the top of the cast of over 30 sex-film stars of the era in cameo appearances. According to Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films , "There has never been - and never again will be - such a smorgasbord of major sex stars populating one movie." Tatsumi given top billing among them was listed as the star. Several of the pink film stars stayed on for Ukiyo-e Women (1968), Nikkatsu's sister-film to their first pink project. Of

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1632-458: The height of her popularity. She later gave her reason as, "I never wanted to disappoint my fans by showing an unflattering face. That's why I've always refused to do a comeback . Nobody is free from aging. I want to exist in the audience's memory as a forever blooming flower ." She celebrated her retirement by issuing a vocal album entitled Modae no Heya. On this disc's recent re-release in CD format,

1683-575: The higher-class productions within the genre. Lynch and Rope (1967) was an unusual project for Tatsumi in this regard, because she normally avoided this type of violent, S&M genre film. She lent her voice to the film as narrator, and it is assumed that she participated in the project as a favor to the film's director, the man who helped start her career, Shintaro Kishi. Tatsumi was paired—almost—with future Nikkatsu Roman Porno queen, Naomi Tani in Memoirs Of A Modern Female Doctor (1967). The film

1734-401: The impression of being abusive toward women. Regardless of the filmmaker's intent - the intellectual or artistic merit - I thought Americans viewed these productions as politically incorrect." This attention from the U.S. again brought Tani to the attention of the domestic Japanese media. At the time, Tani wrote, "the fact that people are still interested in me - after almost 20 years away from

1785-435: The low-budget, independent soft-core pornographic films which dominated Japan's domestic cinema at this time. Her debut was in the 1967 film Special . She took her screen name "Tani" from the novelist Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and "Naomi" from the central character in his important early work A Fool's Love . "Tani," or "valley," is also a Japanese slang word for the cleavage between the breasts. Consequently, Ms. Tani may have had

1836-591: The outright silliness of American and British 'pony girl' efforts, presenting a reasonable introduction to the oft-misunderstood world of erotic discipline." Rope Cosmetology was released theatrically in Japan on December 2, 1978. It was released to home video in VHS format on April 27, 1990, and re-released on September 10, 1993. It was released on DVD in Japan on March 21, 2007, as part of Geneon 's seventh wave of Nikkatsu Roman Porno series. Naomi Tani Naomi Tani ( 谷ナオミ , Tani Naomi , born 20 October 1948)

1887-532: The savage and the maternal." To explain her popularity he says she "looked like a Japanese mother, her ample breasts tucked into a matronly kimono. She was the ideal object for men to take their anxieties out in, like the patient mother being pummelled by her sons. She was the Mother Goddess in bondage, the passive cross-bearer of masculine inadequacy." In 1979, after reigning for five years as Nikkatsu's "Queen Of S&M," Tani retired suddenly and unexpectedly at

1938-534: The screen - fills me with buoyancy and surprise. It embarrasses me, too." In this retrospective atmosphere, Tani was finally persuaded to return to film in 2000 to appear in Hideo Nakata 's documentary on director Masaru Konuma entitled Sadistic and Masochistic . Four of Oniroku Dan's stories, originally published in Japanese in 1997, were published in English in 2010 by Vertical, Inc. The collection of these stories

1989-449: The successful Lady Black Rose (1978). Jasper Sharp uses Rope Cosmetology to help explain Tani's popularity in the pink film genre. Despite her image as a proud, matronly, high-class woman, she was willing, if not eager, to submit to extremes of degradation to make her films memorable. Sharp notes that the highlight of the film, in this respect, is when Tani is covered in butter and raped by

2040-598: The sun. I could suddenly enjoy the outdoors, golf and the beach." Her early retirement from film was clouded by difficulty however. In 1981 she was hit by a car while walking her dog, and had to undergo extensive rehabilitation for three years. This difficult period in her life continued with her 1984 divorce from her husband. After the divorce, she opened the Ohtani restaurant in Kumamoto , which became highly successful, and which she currently owns. In 1996 she also opened "Yours Naomi",

2091-628: Was Special (スペシャル - Supesharu ) for Shin Nihon Eigasha and directed by the prolific pink film auteur Kōji Seki . The film had Tani in the role of the mistress of a black marketeer who tries to cheat people at an onsen . The couple is stopped by the local villagers. Experiments on the Human Body ( Zanki: Seitaijikken 1967) was a war drama in which Tani played a nurse in China where Japanese doctors are performing experiments on Chinese POWs. Tani had

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2142-419: Was a suspense thriller with Tatsumi as a woman plotting her husband's death to collect a large inheritance. Tatsumi would continue to work with Hayashi and Seki throughout the 1960s. In director Toshio Okuwaki's Climax (1967), Tatsumi plays the role of a woman engaged to a rich man. Her overly protective brother, a poor college student, is against the marriage, but agrees to cause no problems in exchange for

2193-564: Was also directed by Konuma, though, unlike most of her films for the studio, this one was not based on an Oniroku Dan novel. It became an even bigger hit than Flower and Snake , and one of Nikkatsu's all-time top five moneymakers. Flower and Snake and Wife to Be Sacrificed are credited with starting the S&M Roman Porno series which helped save Nikkatsu from financial collapse during the 1970s. Wife to Be Sacrificed became Nikkatsu's biggest hit of 1974, and remains one of their top five successes of all time. It also established Naomi Tani as

2244-408: Was asked if she ever found herself sexually aroused while making a film, she stressed the artistry behind her performances, commenting that the face of a woman in actual sexual ecstasy would likely cause laughter. Instead, she says, "An actress has the responsibility to excite the audience, not herself." She further states, "... to gain sympathy from the audience, I engaged in elaborate discussions with

2295-402: Was important to keep her skin very white, so that it could be seen turning red during some of the scenes involving such things as whippings or melting candle wax tortures. Tani wrote in 1998 "The woman's naked body must not only be seen as a sensual object, but must also be able to express emotion; so, I did my best to keep Naomi Tani's body as close as possible to perfect condition." When Tani

2346-509: Was in a minor role as a nurse in Sensuous Beasts (1972). Unlike her starring roles for smaller studios, she played a supporting role in this film. Preferring to continue starring in lower-budget films rather than playing supporting roles for Nikkatsu's leading Roman Porno actresses, she did not stay with Nikkatsu at this time. Even when Nikkatsu began asking Tani to work for their studio in major roles, she refused for years because Nikkatsu

2397-490: Was in two separate sections, and Tatsumi and Tani appeared in different stories. Tatsumi's story had her as a sexually promiscuous office lady who sleeps with her boss and co-workers, eventually becoming pregnant. Director Mamoru Watanabe 's Slave Widow (1967) had three major pink film stars together—Noriko Tatsumi, Mari Iwai and Naomi Tani. One of the better films of the First Wave of pink film , Tatsumi's acting ability

2448-409: Was intended as a direct message to Eirin , the Japanese film-rating board. Made after Takechi had won the trial, the film is about a painter of erotic pictures who is persecuted by the government. Though still containing significant erotic content, this is one of Takechi's few films to pass the censor relatively un-edited, perhaps because Eirin feared losing another embarrassing public confrontation with

2499-403: Was reluctant to enter the S&M genre with its Roman Porno series. Feeling that S&M was her destiny, Tani consented to work at Nikkatsu only on the condition that her first film be based on Oniroku Dan's novel, Flower and Snake . Nikkatsu agreed. Directed by Masaru Konuma , this 1974 film became a major hit for Nikkatsu. Tani's next film for Nikkatsu, Wife to Be Sacrificed (1974)

2550-435: Was simply good at sucking my belly into a small ball and then expanding it." In the other, gallons of brandy are similarly poured into Tani's vagina while her body can be seen flushing from pale white to a drunken red. The film is alternately praised and condemned as "the ultimate woman-as-an-object" film. Tani's last film, Rope and Skin (1979) was also directed by Nishimura, once again based on an Oniroku Dan novel, and had

2601-568: Was singled out for praise in this film which helped her to attain the status of Queen of the Pink film . Along with Genji Nakamura and Banmei Takahashi , director Mamoru Watanabe is considered one of the three "Pillars of Pink" of the Wave of Pink film . Though Nikkatsu's wouldn't officially enter the pink film genre until the inception of their Roman Porno series in November, 1971, they did experiment with

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