The Encyclopedia Of Smut: A Is For Asian Mosaic Porn

We want you to think that we're knowledgeable about all the porn ever made in the world, but honestly, we're not. There's simply too much out there for us to wrap our heads around. However, we want to learn more about various niches and styles of sex-based cinematics, and so today we're announcing the beginning of our Encyclopedia of Smut! Don't think of this as a porn-based Wikipedia, think of it as an erotic Microsoft Encarta (because we don't know how long we can keep this up).

First up on our alphabetic journey: Asian porn and mosaic censorship!

History: As you probably already know, the genital-specific censorship is really a Japanese thing. According to an (extremely fascinating) article by Japan Probe, modern Japanese obscenity laws have their roots in the Meiji Era when materials deemed "injurious to public morals" were straight-up banned. After World War II, American occupation authorities injected some First Amendment vibes into the Japanese law books, but unfortunately, those vibes didn't extend to pornography. The law remains in effect to this day, and the only thing that's changed is how the government views what is or isn't harmful to national morality.

In the 1960s, filmmakers were able to depict sex in movies as long as the camera stayed at angles that obscured all genitalia. Some consider these so-called "pink" films separate from porn in general, noting that these provided young directors the ability to develop and explore their own film-making styles as long as some bit of sex was included in the finished product. By the 1980s, movies like these were available on VHS and Betamax.

[Above: "Virgin: Yuko" via AEBN Adult Video On Demand (theater.aebn.net)]



Today: You might be wondering why the mosaic (or blur, or black censor bar) is still used these days when anyone can easily download uncensored Japanese porn--called "urabon"--and terms like "hentai" and "bukkake" are thrown around all over the world. In short, it all goes back to what's deemed "injurious to public morals," and officially, no Japanese producer is allowed to show genitals. As Japan Probe notes, "The uncensored Japanese porn that exists does so because either it was made for foreign export, or it was illegally produced/uncensored." And yes, there are expensive gadgets that you can use to tediously un-mosaic porn, even while you watch it.

On the bright side, the definition of "injurious to public morals" has changed a lot recently. Pubic hair was inappropriate up until the late 1990s, and now pixelization generally goes from clit to ass. When "Kinsey" hit Japan in 2005, it was allowed to air completely uncensored, and the scene in which Alfred Kinsey shows a slideshow of penis and vagina pictures has the honor of being the first ever movie scene including visible genitalia allowed by their censors. Of course, as Eden Fantasies pointed out, "this scene was allowed because the genitals in question were shown in an educational capacity, not a titillating one."

[Above: "Rumi's Sex Party" via AEBN Adult Video On Demand (theater.aebn.net)]



Why This Is Worth Masturbating To: Yeah, everybody likes looking at genitals, but just think about how much more you can do with porn when you don't have to worry about keeping the camera on the penis and vagina! Eden Fantasies observes that the censorship of a small, specific part of sex causes emphasis to go elsewhere:

You are more likely to see extended kissing scenes in Japanese porn [as opposed to American porn], and while strip teases are popular in both nations' adult films, the clothes do seem to come off more slowly in Japanese films. Sex toys also seem to be used in more Japanese heterosexual scenes than in the US, perhaps since the toys don't need to be censored.

And you'll notice that while genitals are censored, bodily fluids are not! Therefore, bukkake.

So even if your idea of a good piece of smut involves double vaginal penetration and well-lit speculum shots, you ought to spend some time with Asian mosaic porn. You'll see things you don't often get to see from western filmmakers, and no, we're not just talking about tentacles.

[Above: "Doggy Style" via AEBN Adult Video On Demand (theater.aebn.net)]

[At top: Yuna via Metidol (metidol.com)]