Review by Choice Review
Cather (Univ. of Texas at Austin) insightfully analyzes major censorship cases in Japan from 1950 to 2007, involving, in sequence, translations of Western literature, films, new editions of Japanese erotica from the Tokugawa period (1600-1867), and modern native works incorporating both text and images--most notably manga (comics). Although the postwar democratic constitution guarantees freedom of expression, an 1880 criminal code that remains largely in force includes restrictions on obscenity. The first major postwar prosecution--that of the first full Japanese translation of D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover--resulted in a conviction of the publisher on the basis of a vague prewar legal definition of obscenity: namely, that which arouses sexual desire, offends most people's sense of sexual modesty, and contradicts correct sexual morality. In addition, the judges saw defining correct morality and protecting Japanese society from threats to it as their responsibility, even apart from empirical studies of present-day opinion. In these ways, the case established precedents for future censorship trials. Cather concludes that the 2007 conviction reached concerning the manga Honey Room (2002) largely confirms the legal status quo despite the explosive expansion of erotic manga in Japan, and a borderless Internet defying controls. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. P. S. Spalding Illinois College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
