Ero guro (エログロ, ero-guro^?) is a concept or movement or sub-genre, still somewhat loosely defined, that has emerged inside multiple schools of Japanese art and music. The words "ero guro" or "ero guro nansensu" is gairaigo derived from the English words "erotic grotesque nonsense", and is sometimes shortened to simply guro (though this shortening is usually used to describe pornography). Regardless of nomenclature, the terms ero and ero guro are widely recognized as codewords denoting artwork that depicts extreme/bizarre violence (mutilation, dismemberment, scatology, etc.) in an erotic manner. Gairaigo (外来語) is Japanese for loan word or borrowed word, and indicates a transliteration (or transvocalization) into Japanese. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

History

Ero guro's first distinct appearance began in 1920s and 1930s Japanese literature. This and other activities and movements were generally suppressed in Japan during World War II but re-emerged in the postwar period, especially in manga and music.[1] The 1920s is a decade that is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Manga )   (pl. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ...

Over time, the ero guro movement's influence expanded into parts of Japanese theatre, art, manga, and eventually film and music. Traditional Japanese theatre includes kabuki, noh and bunraku. ... Bronze statue of Amida Buddha at Kotokuin in Kamakura (1252 CE) Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper, and a myriad of other types of works of art. ... Manga )   (pl. ...

In visual media

The typifying element of ero guro visual art is the macabre intermingled with sexual overtones. Often the erotic element, even when not explicit, is merged with grotesque themes and features—somewhat similar to the works of H. R. Giger. Others produce ero guro as a genre of Japanese pornography and hentai involving blood, gore, disfiguration, violence, mutilation, urine, enemas, or feces. Birth machine This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. ... Pornographic movies Pornography (Porn) (from Greek πόρνη (porne) prostitute and γραφή (grafe) writing), more informally referred to as porn or porno, is the explicit representation of the human body or sexual activity with the goal of sexual arousal. ... It has been suggested that H Manga be merged into this article or section. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... Disembowelment is evisceration, or the removing of some or all of vital organs, usually from the abdomen. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up urolagnia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Klismaphilia (sometimes spelled Klysmaphilia) is the paraphilia of deriving sexual pleasure from enemas. ... Look up coprophilia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Examples of well-known guro mangaka include Suehiro Maruo, Shintaro Kago, Jun Hayami, Toshio Maeda, Henmaru Machino, Horihone Saizou, and Waita Uziga. Mangaka ) is the Japanese word for a comic artist. ... Maruo Suehiro (丸尾末広; Maruo Suehiro), born January 28, 1956 in Nagasaki, Japan, is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, and painter. ... Toshio Maeda (前田俊夫) is a Hentai mangaka who was most prolific in the 80s and 90s. ... Henmaru Machino (sometimes credited as Hanmaru Machino) is a Japanese artist whose works prominently feature themes of dysmorphic hermaphrodism and body transformation, as well as dozens of other sexual paraphilia. ... Horihone Saizou (掘骨砕三) is a Japanese manga artist whose works (like fellow manga-ka Henmaru Machino) prominently feature themes of hermaphrodism (futanari), coprophilia, shotacon, lolicon, and body transformation. ... Waita Uziga (氏賀Ｙ太 Ujiga Waita) is well known artist in certain communities for being a guro shock mangaka. ...

The modern genre of tentacle rape began within the category of ero guro (although it has much older roots in Japanese art; see The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife), but was so popular that it is now usually considered separately. The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, an 1820 Hokusai woodcut depicting a woman engaging in sex with a pair of octopuses. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Ero guro is also an element of many Japanese horror films and pinku eiga, particularly of the 1960s and 70s, such as Teruo Ishii's Horror of the Malformed Men (江戸川乱歩全集 恐怖奇形人間, 1969) and Yasuzo Masumura's Blind Beast (盲獣, 1969), both based on the works of Edogawa Rampo. A more recent example of ero guro in cinema is Sion Sono's Strange Circus (奇妙なサーカス, 2005). Pink film ) is a style of Japanese softcore pornographic films. ... Teruo Ishii (石井輝男 - Ishii Teruo) (January 1, 1924 - August 12, 2005) was a Japanese film director best known in the West for his early films in the Super Giant series, and for his films in the Ero guro (erotic-grotesque) subgenre of pinku eiga such as The Joys of Torture (1968). ... Yasuzo Masumura (増村 保造, August 25, 1924 - November 23, 1986) was a Japanese film director. ... Edogawa Rampo Edogawa Rampo (江戸川 乱歩 Edogawa Ranpo), born Hirai Tarō (平井 太郎 Hirai Tarō, October 21, 1894 - July 28, 1965) was a Japanese author and critic. ... Sion Sono ) (1961 – Present) is a controversial poet and filmmaker. ...

Legality

Many countries prohibit pornography that is deemed to incite violence. This may be specifically because of the concern that the portrayed acts might be copied by mentally disturbed sadists, or simply as an outgrowth of the belief that pornography, especially hardcore pornography, objectifies and dehumanizes people.

As such, guro would likely be considered illegal in countries having such legislation. However, the fact that most guro artwork is clearly that—drawn or photomanipulated images not portraying reality—prevents most law enforcement agencies (especially online) from making the pursuit of such material a priority, concentrating instead on material such as child pornography. Child pornography refers to pornographic material depicting children. ...

In music

Ero guro bands (most often seen as a sub-genre within visual kei or post visual by some fans) typically use shock visuals, as well as lyrics and live imagery, but look less feminine than traditional visual kei. Within the erotic and shock value of the bands' music and performance, there is also humour. It has long been rumoured that Cali≠Gari were responsible for the application of the term to music. Malice Mizer, an example of visual kei during the 1990s. ... Cali≠Gari were a band that fathered the eroguro (erotic and grotesque) movement. ...

Bands described as ero guro include Velvet Eden, Kinniku Shojyo Tai，Guruguru Eigakan, Inugami Circus-dan, Rauya, Merry and Cali≠Gari.^{[citation needed]} Velvet Eden is a Japanese Rock/Visual Kei band, that formed in 1998. ... Kinniku Shojyo Tai(筋肉少女帯 also call KING-SHOW) is a Japanese Band. ... Inugami Cirus Dan (犬神サーカス団), which translates as `The Dog-God Circus Troupe are a rock band from Japan, who are visual kei and ero-guro. ... The members of Merry, from left to right: Nero,Kenichi, Yuu, Tetsu, and Gara. ... Cali≠Gari were a band that fathered the eroguro (erotic and grotesque) movement. ...

Ero guro and angura kei are two similar movements and in music are considered to be closely related. The distinction is that ero guro puts the focus closer on eroticism, sexual corruption and decadence. [2]. Angura kei (an anti-westernization movement that began in the 1960's) uses horror to return to something "uniquely Japanese" as Japan has a long tradition of ghost stories and monsters in their folklore. Angura Kei (アングラ系 Lit. ...

References

• Paper by Mark McLelland of the University of Queensland (pdf version)
• Paper from UCLA website by Professor Miriam Silverberg
• Aguilar, Carlos (editor). Bizarre Sinema! Japanese Ero Gro & Pinku Eiga 1956-1979. Firenze, Italy: Glittering Images, 2005. ISBN 88-8275-065-5

External links

• An English-language imageboard dedicated to guro
• A scanlation site featuring the guro manga Tokyo Akazukin
• A guro manga scanlation archive
• Suehiro Maruo's website
• Shintaro Kago's website
• Waita Uziga's website