THE LOVE OF THE SAMURAI

THE LOVE OF THE SAMURAI
A Thousand Years of Japanese Homosexuality
Tsuneo Watanabe & Jun’icha Iwata

An intriguing and lively study that uncovers the deeply embedded cultural traditions of homosexuality in Japanese society. From the love of Buddhist monks for their male servants; to the routine prostitution of actors and the adoption of women’s roles by men in the theatre, and through to the philosophy of Shudo, an essential component of the samurai ethic in which the future samurai must first be loved by an adult male, then himself love a young man before eventually marrying a woman.
160 pages, 9 colour pages, hardback