Eros and Thanatos are closely intertwined, Freud taught. And Asuka Watanabe embodies that curious entanglement.
The 30-year-old works as an occasional nude model but also had a former career as an embalmer -- specifically, the type of embalmer called a yukanshi, who specializes in the ritual washing of a dead body, as made famous in the Oscar-winning movie Departures (2008).
In a recent interview with the tabloid magazine Spa!, Watanabe explained more about her two professions. Here are some highlights.
Watanabe Asuka: When I researched about makeup, which I was interested in doing as a ...
Long-time readers may remember the story from 2019 of Kazuko Iwamoto, the nude model and actress arrested for attacking her lover at a train station after he tried to end their relationship. The 43-year-old had, it seems, revealed to him that she was pregnant, but her lover was a married cad who wanted to make a getaway at the resort town of Atami.
It was of the most bizarre stories we have ever run and, to be honest, pure catnip: a beautiful jukujo at the height of her fame seemingly caught in a destructive relationship, turns desperate -- and the result is a sensational (though thankfully, ...
What is about female politicians in Japan at the moment? Just days after learning about Japan Innovation Party lawmaker's role in a past porn production, we now find out that Yuri Saito (斎藤ゆり), a one-time candidate for Politician Girls 48 Party, is alleged to have been a sex worker and nude model.
Well, we shouldn't be too surprised. She was a candidate for SJJ48 (as the party dubbed itself, parodying AKB48), alongside a bevy of other women with unusual backgrounds. Hasumin Yoshikawa, for instance, was a former Self-Defense Forces nurse and sex worker, and then embarked on a porn ...
A few weeks ago, Japanese netizens were fascinated by the bloody and cautionary tale of "too cute" Yuka Takaoka, who was arrested for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend with a kitchen knife in Shinjuku.
The latest gruesome episode of romance gone very badly wrong is interesting to us at Tokyo Kinky because of who the alleged perpetrator is.
Kazuko Iwamoto (岩本和子) was arrested for apparently attacking her married lover with a utility knife in the resort town of Atami, west of Tokyo.
The 43-year-old Iwamoto was reportedly incensed when she found that her male lover was in fact married. ...
#MeToo has yet to make inroads in Japan, despite a few scandals and efforts by feminist campaigners. In that respect, South Korean women are doing a better job at raising awareness of such problems as sexual abuse in the entertainment industry and secret recording of women in public toilets.
A new campaign has launched, though, which shines a light on a different aspect of Japanese women's plight: high heels. Dubbed #KuToo (a play on the Japanese word for shoes, kutsu, and pain, kutsuu), the campaign calls on employers to stop enforcing dress codes that require female workers to wear ...
Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe has called another lower house election. During these times we always think of the more unusual politicos or wannabe lawmakers.
For example, Mieko Tanaka is a former actress with at least one nude scene (and an adultery scandal) to her credit. Asuka Tachikawa did the opposite: posing semi-nude after she left politics.
The earlier activities of some provocative candidates can overshadow their campaigns. Election candidate Rena Masuyama was known for her past lactation performance events as opposed to her policies.
Mai Goto is another interesting ...
