Kasama Shirō: The Master Of Visual Eroticism In the Showa Era

Dialogue With Tradition

Kasama Shirō (笠間しろう), born in 1937 in Fukuoka Prefecture, is one of the most emblematic figures in Japanese erotic art, whose work stands out both in the field of manga and in illustration for adult magazines and pulp literature. His work became a symbol of an era in which eroticism intertwined with popular visual culture, especially during the Shōwa era (1926–1989).

Throughout his career, Kasama Shirō developed his own visual language, which can be interpreted as an aesthetic response to post-war sexual repression, while also dialoguing with the Japanese artistic tradition of erotic ukiyo-e (shunga). Like the Edo period masters, who depicted naked bodies and erotic situations with lyricism and meticulousness, Kasama inherits and reinvents this tradition, adapting it for the modern world of comics.

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Beginning Of Career And Early Publications

Kasama Shirō began his artistic career in 1958, debuting as a mangaka in the magazine Doyō Manga. Targeted at both youth and adult entertainment, Doyō Manga served as one of the many graphic laboratories for young artists to experiment with various narrative and visual styles in post-war Japan. His talent for depicting the female form and his attention to expressiveness quickly garnered attention, leading to his contributions in other popular magazines of the time, such as Manga Tengoku and Manga Action. These publications were known for blending action, comedy, and eroticism, catering especially to an adult male audience during a period marked by the flourishing of adult comics in Japan, with the consolidation of the gekiga style, a movement aiming for a more serious and realistic tone intended for mature audiences. While Kasama did not fully align with the dramatic realism of prominent gekiga authors like Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Takao Saito, his work shared their pursuit of more adult-oriented manga, both in content and graphic language.

Over time, Kasama specialized in portraying sensual scenes and voluptuous female characters, always enveloped in an atmosphere of tension and melancholy. This combination of eroticism with deep emotion, often expressed through the characters' eyes, gestures, or dramatic scene compositions, became his trademark.

Fig.4  Abandoned House Sacrifice

Fig.5  Calendar of Flesh Play in Early Spring (SM Fan) , Jan 1977 by Kasama Shiro

Fig.6 Fantasy Room, Dec 1972 (SM Collector)

Encounter With Oniroku Dan

During the 1960s and 1970s, Kasama began collaborating with adult magazines such as Manga Tengoku and Manga Action, which provided him with greater visibility. It was also during this period that he met writer Oniroku Dan, an icon of Japanese sadomasochistic literature, whose work significantly influenced Kasama's visual aesthetics. This collaboration led to the manga adaptation of one of Dan's most notorious novels: Hana to Hebi (花と蛇, Flower and Snake), a seminal work in Japanese SM.

Fig.7  Demon World Flight SM Secret Novel (Nov 2000, Heisei 12) by Yuuki Saiu. Illustrated by Kasama Shiro.

Continue reading in Premium and check out the much longer version of the article including an analysis of Flower and Snake and sadomasochistic aesthetics, his visual style and representation of the female body, his significant contributions to SM magazines, the recognition and contemporary reevaluation of his art, many rare visual examples of his compelling erotica, and MORE...!!

Click HERE for the mysterious spanking drawings of Katou Kahoru

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