Japan is frequently portrayed as being culturally and historically “tolerant” toward homosexuality. In some modern “Western” societies, sexual relations and acts between males, and often females also, have been prohibited under sodomy laws that included penal sanctions. Indeed, there have been no such laws in Japan.1 In addition, in pre-modern Japanese society, sexual acts between males, such as “Shudo” and “Nanshoku,” were historically enjoyed as “culture.” This forms the basis for the discourse that Japan is “tolerant” toward homosexuality.