The Arrest of Sayuri Ichijo--Early 1970s A Woman at the Crossroads of Sex and Freedom
In the early 1970s, Japanese society was in the midst of a period of rapid economic growth and fluctuating values regarding sexuality. Sexual expression was gradually permeating popular culture, but society's tolerance for it was not great. Stripper Sayuri Ichijo was at the forefront of this trend. Her stage was a space where beauty and perversion intersected. Immediately after her performance was broadcast on the TV program "11PM," the Osaka Prefectural Police were inundated with calls protesting her performance, and she was eventually arrested. In response, Akiyuki Nosaka stated that the more sexual expression is made public, the more abnormal curiosity is quelled. The fact that people went out of their way to report the incident, even though they did not have to watch it if they did not want to, rather reflects a repressed social mindset. This incident is not just an entertainment scandal. It was an important touchstone in postwar Japan, questioning the extent to which the
state should regulate sexuality and how it should protect freedom of expression.
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