Guro — what is it and how do the Japanese treat pain?
Some of these are considered at least bizarre by ordinary people, while others I consider the basis of my work. This is the case in guro – another branch of Japanese literature and art in general, specializing in depicting perversions (sadism, masochism) and naturalistic scenes.
Article Contents:
Aesthetics of Death
The Japanese have a unique attitude toward pain and death, which often shocks those around them. Southeast Asia is a rather specialized region in this regard, especially when it comes to the sophistication of torture, which no one can surpass, but only Japan has seppuku.
For Europeans, it is better known as “hara-kiri.” This is a method of suicide or execution in which, according to a special ritual, a person opens their stomach, drinks a cup of sake beforehand, and writes a poem about the foibles of life. Special article.
Seppuku is believed to have been banned since 1868, although the last time seppuku was practiced was in 2001. Every such suicide is tacitly approved by the state as an expression of true courage and adherence to the samurai code of honor.
However, the Japanese attitude toward death and suffering can be examined in another, more mundane and unpleasant example. This is a dish called “jikuzu,” or live sashimi. Live fish or seafood is served, with some of the meat removed.
A prerequisite for this dish is that the fish must show signs of life while on the plate. If it opens its mouth and flaps its gills and tail, this indicates the freshness of the meat. Although it’s possible that the diners themselves find this sight appealing.
Europeans are outraged when they see videos of live sashimi. Come to think of it, the oysters consumed in large quantities in European and other restaurants are not humanely euthanized before serving.
Grotesque erotica or erotic grotesque?
Guro means eroticism. The term is a combination of two words: erotic and grotesque. Both erotica and grotesque in this case are approximate terms, not precise descriptions. Grotesque is the best definition of “absurd.”
Erotica is characterized by scenes that evoke aversion in the majority of normal people—from disgust to revulsion. The more persistent, the more incomprehensible. People with a developed mental organization experience strong shocks.
In most cases, erotic scenes are woven into the plot (if present).
Amid all this violence, there’s usually no need to talk about sexual perversions, as they seem like cute pranks.
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It’s hard to say how eroticism fits in with this. But in fact, this genre doesn’t seem to fall under the category of sadomasochism. So it’s something special and uniquely Japanese. Less shocking than a live fish cut up on a plate with the softest part removed.
Novice viewers are shocked by the naturalness of such scenes and the combination of blood, pain, death, and sexual satisfaction. Sometimes a fantastical setting is added to emphasize the fantastical nature of the entire action.
Eroguro as a sign of a crisis of society
Guro as a movement emerged in the 1920s and is also called pseudo-Anglicism (in Japanese, wasei-eigo).
As early as 1814, the great North Koreans created a print called “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife.” Its content fully corresponded to the erotic description. It depicted a beautiful woman having sex with an octopus. However, it was a unique work of art.
This strange appearance coincided, to put it mildly, with a severe economic depression. Meanwhile, Japanese culture at the time, under Western influence, was simultaneously becoming increasingly urban and decadent. The Tokyo district of Asakusa had now become a guru attraction.
This was the old center of the Japanese capital, a quarter of the 17th century, where physical pleasure could be found for a fee. Yasunari Kawabata set the action of his book “The Funny Girl of Asakusa” here. Incidentally, Kawabata became the first Japanese Nobel Prize laureate.
For a long time, Sada Abe, a true Japanese, became a “style icon.” She was a prostitute and, for sexual gratification, strangled her client and then cut off his genitals. Before her arrest, Sada carried either the folds of a kimono or a woman’s purse.
Not long before this event, the detective novel “Black Lizard” was published. The protagonist of its museum exhibit collected people and placed them in cages or turned them into wax figures.
However, in light of the development of Japanese militarism and wartime events, the desire to display perverted erotic tastes was labeled as dislike and subjected to harsh censorship. EROG fell into disuse for a time.
At the end of World War II, its revival proved short-lived, as the mood of defeat in Japan had a profound impact on the country’s entire culture. Erotic decadence reared its head again, this time in anime and manga.
Cartoons not for every adult
Hentai is an erotic cartoon or animated film, but most often with pornographic themes. Eroticism is considered a type of pornography in this cartoon and is defined as hard, violent, and perverted.
The creators don’t care about plot. The end of such works is a demonstration of various perversions. Comics of this kind are published in specialized magazines, but their circulation is very small—around 7,000 copies—while regular comics reach 900,000.
Erotic films are also produced. These films typically feature torture, violence, murder, dismemberment, and other inappropriate material. Naturally, all of this is produced exclusively as “home video.”
Japanese society generally views ero-guro negatively—but what can’t be said about its proponents is that such art can only emerge in Japan, and the same cannot be said about their attitude toward death.
