ABSTRACT
In July 2014 Japanese 'vagina artist' Megumi Igarashi, who works under the name Rokudenashiko or 'Good-for-nothing kid', was arrested at her home in Tokyo on suspicion of distributing obscene material. This chapter looks at the various media discussions surrounding Rokudenashiko and her trial as well as activities that she engaged in to draw attention to her case. The use of her vulva as part of her artistic activities was by no means a stunt, since Rokudenashiko had for several years been promoting manko art as a vehicle for discussion about the taboos and misunderstandings surrounding the female sex organ in Japan. Interpretations of obscenity since that time have tended to focus not so much on the general scenario surrounding a sexual act or situation, nor the nature of the acts described, so much as the degree of realism with which the sex organs are depicted. Responses to Rokudenashiko's arrest and trial in the local Japanese press were mainly neutral.
