Homosexuality in Japan

Records of men who have sex with men in Japan date back to ancient times. Western scholars have identified these as evidence of homosexuality in Japan. Though these relations had existed in Japan for millennia, they became most apparent to scholars during the Tokugawa (or Edo) period. Historical practices identified by scholars as homosexual include shudō (衆道), wakashudō (若衆道) and nanshoku (男色).

The Japanese term nanshoku (男色; which can also be read as danshoku) is the Japanese reading of the same characters in Chinese, which literally mean "male colors". The character 色 (lit. 'color') has the added meaning of "lust" in both China and Japan. This term was widely used to refer to some kind of male-to-male sex in a pre-modern era of Japan. The term shudō (衆道; abbreviated from wakashudō 若衆道, "the way of adolescent boys") is also used, especially in older works.

During the Meiji period nanshoku started to become discouraged due to the rise of sexology within Japan and the process of westernization. However, during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II the Chinese mocked and insulted Puyi and the Japanese as homosexuals and presented it as proof of their perversion and being uncivilized. The only time homosexual sodomy has been banned in Japan was for a short time in 1872–1880 due to western influence.

Modern terms for homosexuals include dōseiaisha (同性愛者, literally "same-sex-love person"), okama (お釜, "kettle"/"cauldron", slang interchangeably used for gay men, drag queens, gender nonconforming men and transgender women (though now seen broadly as a slur)), gei (ゲイ, gay), homo (ホモ) or homosekusharu (ホモセクシャル, "homosexual"), onabe (お鍋, "pot"/"pan", slang for "gay women"), bian (ビアン)/rezu (レズ) and rezubian (レズビアン, "lesbian").

Historically, the Shinto religion "had no special code of morals and seems to have regarded sex as a natural phenomenon to be enjoyed with few inhibitions." While Shinto beliefs are diverse, Japanese Shintoism historically did not condemn homosexuality, unlike bestiality and incest. A variety of obscure literary references to same-sex love exist in ancient sources, such as Japanese mythology, but many of these are so subtle as to be unreliable. Additionally, they could be conflated with profuse declarations of affection for friends of the same sex, which were common. Due to the Chinese influence of Confucianism and Buddhism, homosexuality was socially discouraged.

Nevertheless, references do exist, and they become more numerous in the Heian period, roughly in the 11th century. For example, in The Tale of Genji, written in the early 11th century, men are frequently moved by the beauty of youths. In one scene the hero rejects a lady and instead sleeps with her young brother: "Genji pulled the boy down beside him ... Genji, for his part, or so one is informed, found the boy more attractive than his chilly sister". The Tale of Genji is a novel, but there are several Heian-era diaries that contain references to homosexual acts and practices. Some of these contain references to Emperors involved in homosexual relationships with "handsome boys retained for sexual purposes".

Nanshoku relationships inside Buddhist monasteries were typically pederastic: an age-structured relationship where the younger partner is not considered an adult. The older partner, or nenja (念者; "lover" or "admirer"), would be a monk, priest or abbot, while the younger partner was assumed to be an acolyte (稚児, chigo), who would be a prepubescent or adolescent boy; the relationship would be dissolved once the boy reached adulthood (or left the monastery). Both parties were encouraged to treat the relationship seriously and conduct the affair honorably, and the nenja might be required to write a formal vow of fidelity. Outside of the monasteries, monks were considered to have a particular predilection for male prostitutes, which was the subject of much ribald humor.

There is no evidence so far of religious opposition to homosexuality within Japan in non-Buddhist traditions. Tokugawa commentators felt free to illustrate kami engaging in anal sex with each other. During the Tokugawa period, some of the Shinto gods, especially Hachiman, Myoshin, Shinmei and Tenjin, "came to be seen as guardian deities of nanshoku" (male–male love). Tokugawa-era writer Ihara Saikaku joked that since there are no women for the first three generations in the genealogy of the gods found in the Nihon Shoki, the gods must have enjoyed homosexual relationships—which Saikaku argued was the real origin of nanshoku. Nonetheless, during the Edo period, male-female relationships were highly valued as it ensured propagation of offspring and social status.