Megumi Igarashi, who uses the pseudonymRokudenashiko, is a Japanese sculptor and manga artist who has received public attention for her work featuring female genitalia. She considers it her mission to demystify female genitalia in Japan where, according to her, they are "overly hidden" in comparison to phallic imagery.
Background
On her website, the artist described how, growing up, she had never seen other women's genitalia, didn't know what they should look like, and was therefore concerned that her own vulva was abnormal. At first, when she began to use a mold of her vulva to create dioramas, she treated the idea light-heartedly. However, after receiving a lot of criticism and backlash, she began to use her art as a statement. She would like women to be able to speak about their bodies without shame, and believes that the vulva should be a "part of the body ... no different from arms or legs". She would like to make the vulva something that is "casual and pop", saying, " vagina is treated like it's something underground and hidden, so I want to industrialize and mass-produce it." Her pseudonym, Rokudenashiko, is a combination of rokudenashi and the diminutive feminine suffix -ko. It therefore roughly translates to "little brat".
Art
Igarashi has made many vulva-themed works, including a chandelier, a remote control car, necklaces and iPhone cases. The small dioramas are part of series called "Decoman". Much of her art was confiscated during a police raid, but photographs document her work. Looking to make something larger, Igarashi considered making a door, and a car, before settling on a kayak, inspired by the connection between female sexuality and the sea. She made a kayak based on a 3D scan of her vulva. She paid for this project through a crowdfunding campaign, sending the 3-D data of the kayak to all donors who contributed over ¥3,000. Igarashi also created a cartoon character named Manko-chan. Manko-chan has been made into manga, figurines, stuffed animals, and a full-size costume.
In July 2014, Igarashi was arrested and spent 10 days in a Tokyo women's prison for the alleged violation of Japanese obscenity laws, for e-mailing the 3D scanner data of her vulva in March to people who supported the crowdfunding campaign to build the kayak. More than 21,000 people signed an online petition urging the government to free her. She was released a week later after having successfully appealed her detention. On 3 December 2014, Igarashi was arrested for suspicion of displaying an obscene object, along with Minori Watanabe, a writer, feminist activist and sex shop owner. Watanabe was later released. On 24 December, Igarashi was indicted and planned on pleading not-guilty, according to her lawyer. She was charged with "obscenity display", "obscenity electromagnetic record", and "obscenity electromagnetic recording medium distribution". On 26 December 2014, she was released on bail. Her trial began 14 April 2015 in Tokyo District Court. On 8 May 2016, the court handed down its decision. She was found not guilty of the charges related to the kayak, on the grounds that the sculpture, with its bright color and decoration, "did not immediately suggest female anatomy", in the words of the BBC report. However, she was found guilty of the charges related to the 3D data, and was fined ¥400,000, about half what the prosecution had suggested was appropriate. If she had been found guilty then she would have faced up to two years in jail and fines up to ¥2.5 million. Her case drew international attention. For instance, The Daily Show host Jon Stewart noted that in Japan, female reproductive organs remain taboo while there is a festival dedicated to the penis. The documentary#Female Pleasure by Swiss director Barbara Miller accompanied Igarashi during the trial. The film is a portrait of five women committed to a self-determined female sexuality, including the artist.
Many disputes about women's rights, artistic freedom, censorship, and double standards in Japan due to Igarashi's arrests. One is that Igarashi is exposing the absurdity of Japan's obscenity law as representations. For instance, male genitalia are shown at shrines and festivals as well as pornographic images of children in manga and anime are still at large. According to The Guardian, "How can it be OK for comics to publish underage pornography but illegal to invite people to 3D scan your vagina?" After the announcement of the verdict for her second arrest, more than 1,000 tweeted expressing anger and questioning the logic of the court. Igarashi says "The vagina has been long regarded as obscene while the penis is considered pop". From The Guardian who quoted Watanabe, "Japan is still a society where those who try to express women’s sexuality are suppressed, while men’s sexuality is overly tolerated".
