Misshitsu

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Misshitsu

Genre
Manga
Authored by	Suwa Yuuji
Publisher	Monotori Kishi
Serialized in
Original run	–
No. of volumes

The manga should not be confused with the founding priest of the Zen Buddhist sect the Fukugenzan Meigetsu-in, Shugon Misshitsu (?-1390).[1]

Misshitsu (generally translated as either Honey Room or Secret Room) is an explicit hentai manga by Suwa Yuuji. It was published in Japan in April 2002 (in 20,000 copies across 1,900 retailers) by the Shobunkan publishing group, Monotori Kishi.

[edit] Controversy

A major obscenity trial in the Tokyo District Court was held, as one had not been held for more than 20 years. The results of the trial was the conviction of Suwa Yuuji in January 2004 (on the charges of violating article 175 of the "National Penal Code", the Japanese penal code, which forbids creating and distributing "indecent" materials). Yuuji was fined, and to avoid a jail sentence, pled guilty. More materially, all adult manga by Yuuji was removed from the marketplace. The publisher Monotori Kishi was also convicted, but his 1 year in jail was suspended by the judge.

The case was appealed to the High Court on arguments that the manga was not as indecent and explicit as much material on the Internet, and that article 175 violated the Japanese Constitution's protection of freedom of expression. The High Court upheld the ruling, and increased the fine on Monotori Kishi to 1.5 million yen from the original 500,000 yen

After the conviction, a number of bookstores and chains removed their adults-only section; their motivation has been attributed to the outcome, a "chilling effect".[2]

[edit] Reference

pg 137 of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics, by Paul Gravett. 2004, Laurence King Publishing Ltd in the United Kingdom (printed in Singapore), ISBN 1-85669-391-0

[edit] External links

Article on the ruling in Asahi Shimbun
Article in the BBC
[3]
Article on the results of the appeal
(Japanese) Article arguing that the case shows the need for clearer regulations, and describing the content
(Japanese) [4]