March 05, 2005

Tentacles of Desire. Joshua Hadley traveled across Japan in the 19th century, documenting a world rarely seen by outsiders. One of his most bizarre discoveries was the Kinoe no Komatsu. It included several woodblock prints of octopi and female pearl divers in intimate situations. The woodblocks ranged from the odd to the downright frightening. [NSFW]

This kind of tentacle porn exists even in modern Japanese pornography.

posted by Dr. Robotnik 19 years ago
  • Does anyone know where the whole "tentacle porn" stereotype originated?
  • It seems to have originated with ukiyo-e painter Hokusai, but I'm curious if there's any related Japanese folklore. Anybody?
  • The Japanese engravings are real. But I call shenanigans on the Victorian writer and the rest of the site. It's a clever satire. With rather sketchy footnotes it purports to document a 19th-century "50 Miles Per Hour Club". And Victorian fursuits. Please. Consider the alternative: if fursuit sex has some long and venerable history, one day it's going to have a liberation movement. Even if true, this history must be surpressed at all costs.
  • It may well be a spoof, but if so it's a very well researched one, with a solid basic knowledge of Victorian-era obscurities. Notably, one of the civilisations described by Pere Sylvain Bertrand, the Parisian archaeological hoaxer, includes descriptions of octopus fertility symbols and "pagan" rituals which (if I recall correctly - I don't have the volume to hand, naturally) are remarkably similar to the Japanese prints mentioned here. He ascribed the practises to a lost Pacific islander civilisation, but I'd be surprised if he hadn't been exposed to the Japanese originals, if not by Handley (who may or may not exist) then by a Handley-type figure. But yes, names like "Sir Neville Thripp" sound just a little too comedy-Victorian to be taken entirely seriously. Also, the habit of bestowing knighthoods on the most minor historical figures always makes one suspicious of an author who tries it.
  • Well said, flash. Here - have an Earldom.
  • I saw the Hokusai print in the (Brit Mus?) exhibition some years ago, but the impression given there was that he was just knocking out a standard porno theme during a bad patch when Mount Fuji wasn't selling quite so well. The strange thing is, the expression on the woman's face (so far as one can see) still seems to be at most one degree removed from utter tranquility.
  • monkeyfilter: at most one degree removed from utter tranquility.
  • Hey, if I get an OBE, and then am granted the title of Earl... do I then become an Earlobe?
  • If you were a Liberal politician you could be an Earlwhig..
  • I am the Earl of Preston. And I am the Duke of Ted.
  • I am the walrus koo koo ca choo
  • Er - NSFW!
  • So the "SF" in "NSFW" stands for "Sick Fucks?"
  • Well, this is the tentacle prawn thread, you know.