Dominating a Man’s World: the Art of Namio Harukawa
Namio Harukawa’s art isn’t exactly described as easy on the eyes, but singularly alluring: paying a sweet visit to his fantasy world, Harukawa’s art is chock-full of BDSM, femdom, humiliation, and unconventional gender norms.
Born in 1947, Harukawa was already interested in sadomasochistic art since high school and used to submit work to saucy post-war pulp magazines. His career as we know it now only sprouted between the 60s and 70s, and a few decades later, he was globally recognized as one of the most talented Japanese fetish artists, receiving applauds from Madonna and Shuji Terayama.
The artists mostly illustrated pornographic magazines. He passed in April 2020, leaving an incomparable legacy in the world of erotic art.
Generally, he uses graphite pencils with sparse pops of color, but the monochrome palette is characteristic of Harukawa’s charm. Although shocking at first glance, his illustrations are surprisingly refreshing for fetish art and media. Heteronormativity is a standard for adult content, as well as restrictive beauty standards, but Namio Harukawa depicts powerful women dominating emasculated, frail and submissive men, playing up with gender roles and other societal constraints.
Drawing these female dominatrices as having no regard for the men depicted, he presents a new genre of +18 content. Additionally, although this was a stylistic choice made by the artist, the portrayal of his characters does contribute to body positivity in the world of adult entertainment, as big and tall women and emaciated men rarely make the cut.
His art also followed a particular storyline and he depicted some of those scenarios. Implicitly described, the men were at the women’s service at all times, being used as furniture, transportation, or simply objects of pleasure. All in all, there are multiple reasons to pay the late Namio Harukawa an homage, and just as many to appreciate his art.
About the Author:
Mizuki Khoury
Born in Montreal, based in Tokyo. Sabukaru’s senior writer and works as an artist under Exit Number Five.
