Anecdotes about Akiyuki Nosaka - "Nude Show" at Sakuradamon (early 1970s)

Anecdotes about Akiyuki Nosaka - "Nude Show" at Sakuradamon (early 1970s)

In the early 1970s, Japan was experiencing the vitality of its rapid economic growth, but social tensions remained high due to pollution problems, the aftermath of the student movement, and the effects of the Vietnam War. While the political scene was becoming increasingly authoritarian, in the fields of entertainment and literature, freedom-seeking expression was gaining momentum. Akiyuki Nosaka's anecdote about the "Sakuradamon nude show" humorously reflects the contradictions of the times. He saw riot police changing clothes en masse at a swimming pool in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and described it as "like a nude show. While citizens would be charged with displaying obscene material if they showed their nudity, the act of the police, a symbol of power, is considered a natural public service. Nosaka said that he thought, "Isn't this a crime of displaying obscene material?" but remained silent, saying, "If I am dealing with the police, it would be ob
struction of public service," ironizing the double standard of society in his words. Given the background of the then flourishing pink movies and strip theaters, while at the same time crackdowns were being tightened, this anecdote satirically illustrates the relationship between sexual expression and power, and is a good example of Nosaka's "resistance through laughter" spirit.