(Re)Visions of Male-Male Sexuality in Japanese Historical TV Epics

Male-male relationships have been an important dimension of masculine sexuality throughout Japanese history; that is, until the Meiji Restoration of the late 19th century when Western prohibitions on homosexuality were imported in the nation’s program of modernization. Although laws against male-male sex were never rigorously enforced and soon lapsed, normative masculinity in the modern era has been constructed around prescriptive heterosexuality. Today, with a number of municipalities formally recognizing same-sex unions, it would seem that Japanese society is becoming more open to alternative lifestyles.

Yet, this openness toward diversity toward sexual minorities comes at a time when other social and political forces are pressing for a return to traditional definitions of masculinity. Declining birth and marriage rates, military threats from the Asian mainland, and increasing numbers of men who report a disinterest in sex, have caused alarm for many who worry about the future of the nation or doubt whether there will even be a Japan by the end of the century.

With the very existence of the nation at stake, popular media has become the site where masculinity is debated. One of the major arenas for reconstructing a traditional masculinity is television historical dramas. Soon after the end of World War II, Japan’s national public broadcasting corporation, NHK (nihon hoosoo kyookai) began dramatizing the lives of important historical figures in its Taiga Drama series. From its inception, the Taiga Drama series has often taken historical figures living in uncertain and transitional eras who were instrumental in “nation building” (kuni zukuri). These drama series have not only been important in creating an understanding of the nation’s history, but also serve as exemplars of traditional masculinity to contemporary audiences.

In this paper, I will discuss how reconstructions of the past are mobilized to address issues of contemporary society. In 2012, the Taiga Drama series took on the a pivotal historical period in the nation’s transformation from a civilian government to a military state which ruled Japan for over 700 years. In doing so, the drama casts the aristocratic government as corrupt, effeminate, and inclined to place personal gain over loyalty to family and nation. On the other hand, the warrior class is the exact opposite, displaying courage, devotion and fidelity. Moreover, in direct contradiction of historical fact, male-male sexuality is attributed to members of the nobility as a sign of their moral corruption, whereas warriors dedication to the betterment of nation is reflected in their observation of strict heterosexuality.

Historical dramas are, it is argued, anachronistic constructions which transpose present-day social and cultural issues onto historical events and individuals in an effort to legitimize contemporary ideological positions on gender, nationalism and nation-building. In this modality, marginalized sexualities are enlisted to support hegemonic masculinity and thereby highlight the link between heteronormative masculinity and the nation-state. Transitional eras such as the late 12^th century and the men involved in it are presented as models for performing masculinity as the nation seeks a way forward.