#freemanko

The fight continues for Rokudenashiko even after her historical win. Today, the artist was found not guilty of obscenity for displaying her deco-man figurines, but fined 400,000 yen ($3400 USD) for distributing the 3D vector files of her genitalia as a crowdfunding reward. The reasons given for this decision? The decorated pussies were identified as “pop art” and said not to immediately suggest female genitalia. As for the 3D files, the court didn’t think the “artistic merit” of the action canceled out the sexually titillating nature of the data.

While celebrating the first legal recognition given to pussy art in Japan, the world-renown vag artist and activist still has work to do. “The ruling explained my artwork was OK because it didn’t look like real female genitals,” she said at a press release after the verdict was announced, “It still says genitalia are obscene objects.”

Ignoring the vaginal aspect of the artwork misses the point. In order to destroy the taboo surrounding manko and achieve full equality of all genitals, the Japanese court should be able to recognize the pussy and the playfulness with which Rokudenashiko has portrayed it. The vagina should also be able to stand alone as part of a woman’s body, not be categorized exclusively as an obscene sexual object.  

With Rokudenashiko’s trial verdict coming May 9th (next Monday), we at Massive are anxious to hear the announcement. The best distraction, we’ve realized, is to focus on all the great events and appearances which make up her North American tour. Rokudenashiko will first travel to Toronto for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, debuting the English edition of her book What is Obscenity? The Story of a Good For Nothing Artist and Her Pussy as a featured guest of the festival. Then, she’ll travel to New York City, to read with MariNaomi and Anne Ishii at the Asian American Writers Workshop, appear on a panel with The Lady Tech Guild at the Eyebeam Insitutue, and host a Free Manko Drink and Draw at POWRPLNT. While a guilty verdict should not prevent the artist from entering Canada or the US, the possibility of another obstacle only motivates us to rally behind Rokudenashiko and her Free Manko tour with more resolve and support than ever. We hope to see you somewhere along the route!

Saturday, May 14th Toronto Comic Arts Festival Spotlight: Rokudenashiko interviewed by Rebecca Sullivan Mariott 100 from 2:45 to 3:45

Sunday, May 15th Toronto Comic Arts Festival CANADALAND: Comics Newsmakers! w/ Rokudenashiko, Jesse Brown, Ted Rall, & Chester Brown The Pilot from 11:00 to 1:15 Wednesday, May 18th Japanese Feminist Comics w/MariNaomi, Anne Ishii AAWW 7pm