A pregnant woman whose body is entwined tightly with octopus tentacles and a Hokusai-like splashing wave as background; a girl standing still and giving a detached look while a dog’s head disappears right up her skirt obviously doing something there… some of the slightly odd but nevertheless luring scenes depicted by Yuji Moriguchi. This Tokyo-based artist blends a frank but still innocent looking eroticism with delicate traditional Japanese painting, spicing it up with contemporary manga. So for today, PingMag visits Moriguchi at his home, an old house in Taito Ward. While sitting in front of Japanese paper sliding doors painted with his own marvellous signature sailor-suited school girls, Moriguchi introduces us to his fantasies:
Written by Chiemi
Translated by Kevin Mcgue
As you graduated from the manga department at Kyoto Seika University, it’s been always your favourite?
I always liked it and I would doodle manga characters, but I was actually more devoted to reading than drawing it. Since it was hard to get into the Western painting or Japanese painting departments, I thought that manga was something that I could do, and so just started drawing.
What were you especially interested in then?
When I was a freshmen, I would go to the zoo and work on animal studies. I really loved the gap in the potential ferocity of a hippo’s muscular body and the calm look on their faces. Also, I attended a seminar of a teacher named Miyotaro Sagawa, who had us work on human figure studies and live sketching rather than manga drawing.
Did you already develop your significant style at that time?
No. I wasn’t working with colour back then but was doing monochrome drawings in pen: people and views of the town. Often, Japanese drinking houses and old men appeared in my early works as well. Then twelve years ago, I came to Tokyo and my works started expressing a sense of ennui. The first such painting was this one [below, left].
One of the first paintings with a sense of ‘ennui’ Moriguchi created after moving to Tokyo.
And at that point you also started with girls as motif…
These girls create a desire to be near them, at the same time exuding an atmosphere that it is impossible to actually be close to them. Every pictures tells a story. Actually, I was influenced by the Maetel anime of the Galaxy Express 999 manga. When I was a kid, I would draw pictures of Maetel to settle arguments with my older brother about which of us was better at drawing.
…and those stories are your fantasies?
Yes, things I just happen to encounter without realising. I like these little moments we experience within our daily lives, and so I build these stories up while I creating the works.
In your paintings, you take scenes of ordinary life and highly stylise them. Please explain a bit.
After I moved to Tokyo, I had more opportunities to see Ukiyo-e and traditional Japanese paintings, and I realised that I love these art forms. I had always loved Hokusai, but never had the chance to study his works. Eventually I thought that I might be able to mix manga with traditional elements from Japanese paintings.
For sure, your work really does look like a fusion of manga and Japanese painting. By the way, flowers started to appear in many of your recent works. What’s your thing with them…?
Flowers are kinky, aren’t they? They have a poisonous quality besides a symbolic meaning. (Laughs)
How do you work usually, are you always scribbling down ideas in your sketchbook?
I usually sketch on the back of copy paper, and then trace a first draft. I want to clean up the lines, so the work progresses in stages and I work on the detailed areas. Only then do I decide on the colours.
When did your paintings get more erotic?
More and more, I was commissioned to do erotic works. These days, often it is the client who decides the themes. By the way, I don’t only do painting, but also manga under the pen name “Namida Zubon.” (Laughs)
”Namida Zubon,” literally meaning “Tears Trousers” - what an awesome pen name! Also, next May, you will be participating in the group show “Japanese Fantasy and Eroticism” at the Metallos Gallery in Paris. What will the French think of your erotic pieces?
France is the country of the escargot, so I am sure they will understand! (Laughs)
One final question: Octopuses often appear in your works. Why is that?
I just love them! (Laughs) They are kind of kinky, I think. I would love to do a whole exhibition on the theme of octopuses some day.
Ahem, I don’t think I can ever look at an octopus the same carefree way again, when I see one sliced up the next time I’m at a sushi shop… Yuji Moriguchi, thank you! We will see your awesome paintings at the “Alice Fantasy” group exhibition starting tomorrow at Span Art Gallery. If you happen to be in Tokyo, you absolutely have to check it out!
Exhibition:
“Alice Fantasy” at Span Art Gallery
Venue: Seioo Bldg. 1F, 2-2-18 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. Map
Dates: December 6th - 15th, 2007; daily from 11am to 7pm.
22 Comments
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oohh! very beautiful work.
Posted by: syl on December 5th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
and very funny somehow
Posted by: Horst on December 5th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
omg.. fantastic..
like d clr combination..
normally i dun like it ;p
Posted by: Anonymous on December 5th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
What a beautiful work !
Thanks for this post.
Posted by: Olivier on December 5th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
[...] great little interview with Japanese Erotica artist Yuji Moriguchi at PingMag No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI [...]
Posted by: Yuji Moriguchi’s Erotica « Nascent Ideas on December 5th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
well~~really stylish!
Posted by: ally on December 5th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
I’m getting sick of uber perverted otaku paintings. Aya Takano works for me because there is something different going on there. An exploration of a sexuality that is a little tilted, a little strange. True innocence and exploration. This, however, seems like masturbation to me.
Posted by: Jessant on December 6th, 2007 at 1:49 am
Jessant > that’s probably why I think these are so brilliant, then. I love the idea of octopuses as a kinky, writhing sex metaphor. I would definitely go to that exhibition!
Posted by: yongfook on December 6th, 2007 at 2:48 am
wow love the style, very erotic
Posted by: -rOb on December 6th, 2007 at 8:01 am
Jessant > Your criticism is like 1200 years late. This type of art (”shunga” and it’s derivative forms) became known in Japan from the 7th/8th century, and widespread from the 18th century. The idea that this is an otaku painting just does not apply.
But masturbation, indeed it is — props (vegetables, snails, an octopus, toys) are symbols of an absent or desired lover, also traditionally represented by theatrical masks or dramatic landscape formations. Moriguchi’s clear talent here is the remixing of symbolic genres to his own unique perspective. Beautifully bent, I love it.
Posted by: CRTZMO on December 6th, 2007 at 11:22 am
yep, thats the culture
Posted by: x-noise on December 6th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
wow it’s great
Posted by: angellesmell on December 6th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Boy’s put a lot of tradition and inspiration into his work.
First thing I thought was “Maruo”, but he didn’t stop there… Well, comparatively very little sadism involved, either…
Posted by: Joseph K on December 6th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Wow! Good stuff.
Posted by: diogo on December 7th, 2007 at 1:12 am
[...] Moriguchi is an artist who loves octopuses. And several other things too. Read the full story at pingmag. [?] Share This December 7, 2007 | Filed Under [...]
Posted by: Octopus kink | Pervert pappu on December 7th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
[...] 7. Dezember 2007 in uncategorized by nille Tags: hund, japan, jung von matt, sodomie die Jung-v.-Matten ihre sodomistischen Ideen her haben: (War ja irgendwie klar ;) [...]
Posted by: Wo.. « virtual cyber plumbers inc. on December 8th, 2007 at 4:44 am
I’m not so sure the woman is pregnant in “Tide”. Rather, it looks to me like the body of the octopus forms what appears to be the womans pregnancy. You can see the eyes of the octopus under the suit and can tell that the tentacles radiate from there.
Still, you are certainly meant to think of pregnancy here. This is more interesting in a real preganant woman being attached by an octopus, in my opinion.
Posted by: Tudza on December 8th, 2007 at 7:24 am
I use to think that work that explores sexual themes such as these, wasn’t too interesting but the more you look into it the more you realize how beautiful it can be. I also think this is a very difficult theme to work with to not make it look cheese ball. I’m really inspired.
Posted by: markokon on December 8th, 2007 at 9:39 am
AWESOME work. the mix of old shunga and contemporary manga is so cohesively and beautifully done… I’m inspired.
Posted by: nyankorita on December 8th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
[...] Moriguchi’s Erotic Fantasies [Ping Mag] Really cool [...]
Posted by: Brain Diggage! « Chris M. Ferguson on December 10th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
发泄
Posted by: qingyunying on December 17th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Well, its nice and cool illustration. I like the style but not the theme.
Posted by: nico on December 17th, 2007 at 2:58 pm