A history of Japanese striptease

Abstract

Nudity is a cultural phenomenon. If nude bodies were displayed before 1945, shows and entertainment exploiting female nudity as such only appeared under the American Occupation. The analysis of actual and concrete forms of such performances and their evolutions brings out three distinct periods. During the postwar period, representations eroticizing the female body spread widely. From 1947, the displaying of nudity, in the form of tableau vivant, increased in revue shows. It is around the turn of the 1950s that this kind of practice became widespread, with the appearance of theaters devoted to strip shows, especially in Asakusa. These institutions led to a “golden age” of striptease characterized by unbridled creativity, scenic innovations and the establishment of a star system. Initiated in the 1960s, the third period is marked by an intensification of the sexual content and aspects of the performances.