The world media has once again taken an interest in Japanese pornography — in particular, porn made for and starring seniors.
We previously noted the press attention lavished on silver porn star Yasue Tomita and veteran male performer Shigeo Tokuda.
Doing the rounds of various overseas media outlets this time is an Associated Foreign Press article about the retirement of Maori Tezuka.
After a decade of peeling off for X-rated movies, a Japanese porn actress famous for being the country’s oldest has called it quits — at the ripe old age of 80.
Maori Tezuka, a former opera singer who made her debut in Japan’s flourishing “silver porn” industry at a sprightly 71, blamed her decision partly on a lack of red-blooded Lotharios able to keep up with her.
“Once the lights go on, you just do your best,” she told local media.
Here is Maori Tezuka, looking sultry.
“I have no regrets, but shooting became difficult when the actor wasn’t my type,” added Tezuka, who in true showbiz fashion left the door open for a possible return.
“It was never about the money for me. I’ve already been asked about returning in two or three years — I said I’d think about it.”
It’s curious that Tezuka cites the lack of male performers as a cause for her retirement. It’s certainly true that while there are tens of thousands of female performers, there is a chronic shortage of male porn performers in Japan.
Geronto-porn is not for the faint-hearted but is big business in Japan where around 34 million people — or a quarter of the population — are over 65.
Japan’s porn industry rakes in about $20 billion a year, with movies featuring rambunctious geriatrics accounting for around a quarter of that market, industry insiders say.
In recent years sales have soared as more of the country’s perky seniors celebrate their mojo.
The article claims that silver porn in Japan “took off thanks largely to the exploits of Shigeo Tokuda,” though we have our doubts about the veracity of this. Not to dispute Tokuda’s achievements, we are not sure he can be given sole credit for the rise of the genre. Surely it is just an inevitable result of the aging population.
One thing’s for sure: it will only get bigger as the baby boomers get older.
