Rokudenashiko (or Rokudenashi-ko), the “vagina artist” arrested in the summer for distributing 3D data of her pussy, has been taken into police custody again, promising to reignite what became an international sensation about female rights and censorship.
This time her “crime”, says Tokyo Reporter, was another vagina selfie artwork, though sculpture rather than photographic.
Megumi Igarashi — Rokudenashiko’s real name — was arrested with a writer called Minori Watanabe.
Rokudenashiko, whose artist name means “Good-For-Nothing Girl”, has previous made a series of figures, models and artworks based on her genitalia, including not infamously a “vagina kayak”.
The 42-year-old artist is alleged to have displayed a plaster cast of her vagina in an exhibition at Watanabe’s adult shop in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, between October 2013 and July 2014.
Igarashi is accused of distributing a “link” that shows she will use 3D data of her you-know-what to create the kayak (this must be the online fundraising campaign she ran to make her boat). She also gave out the data as a CD-ROM to exhibition visitors in May. Images of genitalia is still “obscene” in Japan and only occasionally permitted (“tasteful” hair nude photo shoots, certain comedic scenes in films).
Wow, serious crimes!
We can jest but actually Igarashi potentially faces a jail term of a couple years and a fine of over ¥2.5 million. What she did comes under the ambit of “the distribution of obscene materials”. Keeping it modern, Japan Inc! Have the police ever looked at the Soft on Demand catalog? Or attended one of Japan’s many phallic festivals?!
Watanabe is also a major figure in the adult world. Under the name Minori Kitahara she is a regular columnist about sex and runs Love Piece Club, a platform for promoting female sexuality.
Last time Igarashi ultimately was released without charge, in the face of an uproar from women around the world, and we hope this will be the case again.
