Footnotes, vol.

15, 2022, ISSN: 2816-3745

Women’s Same-sex Relationships in Japanese History

Amina (she/her) is in her third year of her B.A in Honours history. Her interests primarily
surround modern Asian and Middle Eastern history. After completing her bachelor’s degree,
Amina hopes to continue her education in graduate school. Women’s Same-sex Relationships
in Japanese History examines the reception to romantic and sexual relationships between
women throughout Japanese history, emphasizing the issues of erasure and fetishization.
 Footnotes, vol. 15, 2022, ISSN: 2816-3745

In the twenty-first century, the Japanese LGBT+ community has become increasingly
visible. As more and more of Japan’s peer nations legalize same-sex marriage and implement
laws protecting LGBT+ individuals from discrimination, the Japanese LGBT+ community
looks to their government to do the same. While in the twenty-first century, homosexuality has
gained social visibility in Japan, this has not always been the case. In particular, until recently,
same-sex relationships between Japanese women have often been overlooked. The importance
placed upon duty to one’s family has made it difficult for Japanese women to navigate same-
sex relationships throughout history. Due to the intense pressure Japanese women face to marry
and have children, same-sex relationships between women have historically been dismissed as
something women will grow out of, rather than a legitimate romantic and sexual preference.
Records of same-sex relationships between women throughout Japanese history that do exist
are often heavily fetishized or have been created for the male gaze. Overall, women’s same-
sex relationships in Japan have been dismissed and overlooked while simultaneously being
fetishized for the consumption of heterosexual men.
There are comparatively few records concerning same-sex relationships between
Japanese women before the twentieth century. Throughout Japanese history, same-sex
relationships between men, particularly between samurai and youths, have been well
documented.1 In contrast, records of same-sex relationships between women are scarce.
Depictions of same-sex relationships between women can be seen in art from the Tokugawan
period of 1603–1867, particularly in woodblock prints called shunga.2 However, most of this
art was created by male artists, and was clearly made for the male gaze as these portrayals often
featured a hidden male voyeur.3 At this time, there was no terminology that referred to same-
sex relationships between women, and the concept was hardly acknowledged in literature.
Homosexual relationships between women were not linked with male homosexuality until the
early Taishō period, when the term dōseiai, “same-sex love,” emerged.4
The absence of records of women’s same-sex relationships before the twentieth century
can perhaps be partly explained by women’s overall status in society. As is the case in much
of the world, Japan has historically been a very patriarchal society. Women’s main social role,
until recently, has been to marry and have children. Because women have been confined to the
domestic sphere, most non-elite women would not have access to education, and thus would
have likely been illiterate. As such, it is primarily men who would have had the opportunity to
record their own histories and experiences, while the lives of women are not represented. This
started to change during the Meiji era of 1868–1912 and the Taishō era of 1912–1926, as
women gained more public visibility. Additionally, in 1872, education became compulsory for
both boys and girls.5 It is unsurprising that discussions of same-sex relationships between
women emerged at the same time as these changes. Although same-sex relationships between
women surely occurred before the twentieth century, it makes sense that relationships between
men were more frequently documented because of the opportunities afforded to them.
In Japan, homosexuality has not been regulated by law in the same manner as it has
been in many European countries.6 Shintoism and Buddhism, the most common religions in
Japan, do not reject homosexuality in the way in which Christianity and other Abrahamic

1
Mark McLelland, “From Sailor-Suits to Sadists: ‘Lesbos Love’ as Reflected in Japan’s Postwar ‘Perverse
Press,’” U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal, no. 27 (2004): p. 28. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42771918.
2
Sharon Chalmers, Emerging Lesbian Voices from Japan, (New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 19.
3
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005),
p. 57.
4
McLelland, “From Sailor-Suits to Sadists: ‘Lesbos Love’ as Reflected in Japan’s Postwar ‘Perverse Press,’” p.
29.
5
Chalmers, Emerging Lesbian Voices from Japan, p. 19.
6
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 37.
 Footnotes, vol. 15, 2022, ISSN: 2816-3745

religions have been interpreted. As a result, homosexuality has been met with tolerance for
much of Japanese history; however, this began to change in the early twentieth century due to
European influence. At this time, European sexology discourse influenced Japanese scholars
and physicians, and in this discourse, homosexuality was construed in a negative light as
deviant behaviour.7 Even so, Japan did not experience a similar moral panic towards
homosexuality as its European peers. Although homosexuality is by no means widely accepted,
the Japanese LGBT+ community has not been subjected to legal discrimination.
In the 1920s, same-sex relationships between women started to be more frequently
documented as a Japanese publication industry devoted to the discussion of sexuality emerged.8
These publications explored topics that were considered perverse or unusual, including same-
sex relationships between women. As a result, this was one area where women who
experienced same-sex attraction could find themselves represented. Rising literacy rates during
this period caused reading news and magazines to emerge as a leisure activity for the working
class, and so these publications became more accessible to the general public. For the first time,
women who experienced same-sex attraction were presented with the opportunity to write to
these publications and express their desires. These publications would continue until 1937, a
time at which any publications that were considered frivolous or sexual were suspended in the
wake of the Second Sino-Japanese War.9 As a result of these regulations, discussions of
sexuality, including same-sex relationships between woman, were mostly absent until the end
of the war.
The years following the Second World War saw, for the first time, the emergence of a
community of Japanese women who linked their social identities to their attraction to other
women and identified with the term lesbian.10 At this time, publications focusing on “perverse”
sexuality had also begun to re-emerge following their suspension during the war. Although
relationships between women did not feature as prominently as heterosexual relationships or
relationships between men, these publications were important to the development of discourse
on female homosexuality.11 Instead of denying women’s sexual agency, these publications
acknowledged that women were as prone to “perversion” as men.12 Women who experienced
same-sex attraction were thus able to find acceptance of their identities, if only within certain
circles, such as these publications.
Despite the prominence of same-sex relationships between women in these
publications, it can be difficult to determine the experiences of homosexual women from these
documents. Women’s same-sex relationships were, and continue to be, a prominent trope in
pornography aimed at heterosexual men. While these “perverse” publications were important
in that they were one of the only sources that portrayed female same-sex relationships at this
time, these depictions were often not made for or by women. These portrayals of women’s
relationships were often fetishized and made to be consumed by men. As such, it can be
difficult to distinguish between publications composed by women who experienced same-sex
attraction and those created for the male gaze.13
Some works published under female pen names also appear to be men assuming a
female persona, further complicating the distinction between works that reflect the experience

7
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 28.
8
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 30.
9
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 31.
10
James Welker, “Toward a History of ‘Lesbian History’ in Japan,” Culture, Theory and Critique 58, no.2
(2017): p. 149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2017.1282830.
11
Welker, “Towards a History of ‘Lesbian History’ in Japan,” p. 149.
12
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 236.
13
McLelland, “From Sailor-Suits to Sadists: “Lesbos Love” as Reflected in Japan’s Postwar “Perverse Press,” p.
35.
 Footnotes, vol. 15, 2022, ISSN: 2816-3745

of homosexual women and those written to fulfill the fantasies of men.14 In fact, the
fetishization of female same-sex relationships for male consumption was, and continues to be,
so prominent that many women have felt uncomfortable identifying as lesbians because of the
association between lesbianism and pornography.15 Despite these issues, there is still evidence
of a female readership of these publications. Letters have been published from women asking
magazines to put them in touch with other homosexual women or asking the editors to include
more discussions of same-sex relationships between women. One such letter was written to the
magazine Fuzoku kagaku in 1954 by a woman under the name Hyacinth:

I'm a twenty-seven-year-old office worker and since my girlhood have never had any
interest in men…It seems from reading your magazine that there are a large number of
articles for men with no interest in women, but please consider that there are many other
women like me. How about including many more articles that would satisfy women
like me?16

Although many works reduced female same-sex relationships to a male fantasy trope, these
publications were one of the few sources that homosexual women could look to in order to
meet and understand others like them.
Although women’s same-sex relationships were frequently an object of fantasy for
heterosexual men, these relationships were often met with dismissal when they occurred in
reality. Unlike relationships between men, which were seen to be “innately perverse”, same-
sex relationships between women were often dismissed as something to be outgrown once
women were eventually presented with the option of heterosexual marriage. It was thought that
women were more likely to develop more “spiritual” romantic relationships with other women
as opposed to the more “carnal” relationships experienced between men.17 This notion is
problematic not only because the classification of men’s relationships as being “carnal”
sexualizes gay men, but also because it led to the notion that homosexual relationships between
women were not serious or legitimate. Women’s same-sex relationships were largely thought
to be situational, occurring in all-female environments, such as dormitories and all-girl schools,
instead of a real sexual and romantic preference.
It was often thought that women were simply attracted to the traditionally masculine
characteristics of other women, rather than to the woman herself. Characteristics such as being
muscular, having a “sonorous voice” and having small breasts and hips were thought to
increase a woman’s chances of experiencing same-sex attraction.18 This perpetuated the idea
that women’s same-sex relationships only occurred when relationships with men were not an
option. Female homosexuality was also considered easier to “cure” than that of men, and
women were expected to eventually grow out of same-sex attraction and settle into a
heterosexual marriage. These ideas could be harmful to young Japanese women who were
struggling to understand their sexuality, as illustrated by a Japanese lesbian under the alias
Kumiko, who was interviewed by Sharon Chalmers for her book Emerging Lesbian Voices
from Japan:

14
Welker, “Towards a History of ‘Lesbian History’ in Japan,” p. 149.
15
Chalmers, Emerging Lesbian Voices from Japan p. 39.
16
McLelland, “From Sailor-Suits to Sadists: “Lesbos Love” as Reflected in Japan’s Postwar “Perverse Press,”
p. 40.
17
McLelland, “From Sailor-Suits to Sadists: “Lesbos Love” as Reflected in Japan’s Postwar “Perverse Press,”
p. 35.
18
McLelland, “From Sailor-Suits to Sadists: “Lesbos Love” as Reflected in Japan’s Postwar “Perverse Press,”
p. 37.
 Footnotes, vol. 15, 2022, ISSN: 2816-3745

I was reading lots of psychology books and came to the conclusion that I must have
been wrong in my thinking, because these books all presented the standard view that
homosexual love among young girls is common until they grew up and found
themselves the real thing in a man. I thought I was only going through that process.19

Kumiko describes how the prevalent notion that attraction between women is just a transitory
phase had been harmful to her. The dismissal of women’s same-sex relationships as a legitimate
sexual and romantic preference caused her to doubt her own sexuality. These ideas are
dismissive of same-sex attraction between women, and creates the impression that women are
only attracted to other women when men are absent.
In Japanese society, women experience overwhelming pressure to marry and have
children. This has been the reality throughout history, and this expectation has continued into
the twenty-first century. It has been often considered the duty of women to produce children.20
This notion perpetuates heteronormative standards, both reducing and tying a woman’s identity
to motherhood. Marriage and motherhood have historically been, and continue to be, important
in gaining social recognition for women in Japan.21 Japan is a collectivist society, and so
conformity to social norms is highly valued. Women face immense pressure from their peers,
and especially their family, to marry. This presents an obstacle for women who experience
same-sex attraction, as the nature of their attraction deviates from these societal norms. Many
Japanese lesbians choose to marry male partners regardless of their attraction due to the
security and protection from social criticism that this option presents.22 As opposed to the
expectation of “coming out” that has been prominent for American lesbians, many women in
Japan prefer to hide their sexuality from their family indefinitely because of the familial
pressure they experience.23 A Japanese lesbian interviewed by Sharon Chalmers describes the
difficulties of speaking about sexuality with one’s family:

They [Americans] seem to think that telling your parents is the way to go about forming
a relationship with them, even if you end up fighting. I think that’s really different to
Japan, where it’s thought that hiding it is kinder to your parents. […] My parents are in
their seventies, so they will probably die soon. If I say nothing for that long, they can
die with nothing having been said. 24

Because of the importance placed on familial ties and conformity in Japanese culture, many
women do not want to create conflict among their families. Overall, due to the great importance
placed on heterosexual marriage and the lack of recognition for same-sex marriage,
relationships between women have not been treated seriously in Japanese society throughout
history. They have been seen as something to be outgrown, so that women can settle into the
heterosexual marriages that society expects of them.
By the 1990s, same-sex relationships between women started to gain more visibility in
Japan. Lesbian and gay pride parades and film festivals were established as an LGBT+
community started to form.25 Although lesbians and gay men are frequently grouped together,

19
Chalmers, Emerging Lesbian Voices from Japan, p. 25.
20
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 239.
21
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 63.
22
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 36.
23
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 49.
24
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 56.
25
Claire Maree, “The Un/State of Lesbian Studies: An Introduction to Lesbian Communities and Contemporary
Legislation in Japan,” Journal of Lesbian Studies 11, no.3 (2007): p. 295.
https://doi.org/10.1300/J155v11n03_11.
 Footnotes, vol. 15, 2022, ISSN: 2816-3745

the two communities faced very different issues. In the 1990s, several of the first commercial
Japanese magazines targeting lesbian and bisexual women were published at this time.26 Unlike
the “perverse” magazines of the postwar era, which catered to the fantasies of heterosexual
men, these magazines were written by and for homosexual women. While similar magazines
targeted towards male homosexuals had existed since the end of the 1970s, it took much longer
for publications focused on women’s relationships to be produced.27 Such publications were
both expensive and laborious to produce before the time of personal computers and printers.
Because of the social and economic disadvantages women faced, it was much more difficult
for groups focused on women’s same-sex relationships to mobilize and obtain the necessary
finances to undertake these projects.28 As a result, it continued to be difficult for women who
experienced same-sex attraction to gain social visibility.
The increasing visibility and recognition of Japanese LGBT+ groups during the late
twentieth-century happened in conjunction with other social and political reforms, such as the
women’s rights movement.29 However, even amongst the activists involved in these social
movements, women who experienced same-sex attraction were often not met with acceptance.
Some heterosexual women within the women’s liberation movement expressed discomfort
with the presence of lesbian women within the group. They were uncomfortable with the idea
of participating in support groups or staying overnight at conferences with lesbian women,
viewing them as sexual predators akin to men.30 As a result, women who experienced same-
sex attraction felt ostracized from the movement, and efforts to gather support for lesbian issues
were largely ignored. The women’s liberation movement placed an emphasis on women’s
sexual autonomy, and critiqued the strict expectations placed upon women regarding marriage
and the family.31 These values aligned with many of the problems homosexual women faced,
and thus should have promoted intersectionality between the Japanese feminist movement and
the lesbian community. Instead, due to the homophobic biases of many heterosexual women,
lesbian women were often excluded from the movement.
The reception to same-sex relationships between women in Japan has been one of
dismissal and fetishization. The confinement of non-elite women to the domestic sphere for
much of history presents challenges for scholars seeking to understand the lives of homosexual
Japanese women before the twentieth century. The importance placed on familial ties and the
pressure for women to marry has contributed to the negative, and often dismissive, view of
same-sex relationships between women in Japanese society. While real life relationships
between women have been met with dismissal, women’s same-sex relationships have
continuously featured as a sexual fantasy trope in pornography created for heterosexual men.
Many early records of same-sex relationships between women were created for the male gaze,
and as such it is difficult to discern which works accurately represented the lives and desires
of women.
In the twentieth century, the need for equal rights and treatment for LGBT+ individuals
are ongoing issues. In Japan, there continues to be no legal recognition of same-sex marriage,
so women who experience same-sex attraction do not have the option to marry according to
their sexual and romantic preferences. While homosexuality has never been the subject of legal
discrimination in Japan, there have also never been laws created to protect the rights of LGBT+

26
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 301.
27
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 458.
28
McLelland, Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age, p. 458.
29
Maree, “The Un/State of Lesbian Studies,” p. 296.
30
James Welker, “From Women’s Liberation to Lesbian Feminism in Japan,” in Rethinking Japanese
Feminisms, ed. Julia C. Bullock, Ayako Kano and James Welker (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2017),
p. 50.
31
Welker “From Women’s Liberation to Lesbian Feminism in Japan,” p. 51.
 Footnotes, vol. 15, 2022, ISSN: 2816-3745

individuals. Advocates for LGBT+ issues should seek to understand the history of these groups
not only in their own country, but globally, to better promote intersectionality and inclusivity.
In the case of Japan, women who experience same-sex attraction have experienced a history of
being fetishized, dismissed, and ostracized.
 Footnotes, vol. 15, 2022, ISSN: 2816-3745

Bibliography

Chalmers, Sharon. Emerging Lesbian Voices from Japan. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Maree, Claire. “The Un/State of Lesbian Studies: An Introduction to Lesbian Communities
and Contemporary Legislation in Japan.” Journal of Lesbian Studies 11, no. 3 (2007):
291–301. https://doi.org/10.1300/J155v11n03_11.
McLelland, Mark. “From Sailor-Suits to Sadists: “Lesbos Love” as Reflected in Japan’s
Postwar “Perverse Press.” U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal, no. 27 (2004): 27–50.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42771918.
McLelland, Mark. Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age. New York:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.
Welker, James. “From Women’s Liberation to Lesbian Feminism in Japan.” In Rethinking
Japanese Feminisms, edited by Julia C. Bullock, Ayako Kano and James Welker, 50–
67. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2017.
Welker, James. “Toward a History of ‘Lesbian History’ in Japan.” Culture, Theory and
Critique 58, no. 2 (2017): 147–165.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2017.1282830.