In 1971 the Nikkatsu studio, desperate to stave off bankruptcy, switched production to the then-burgeoning genre of softcore pornography. Made mostly by young directors promoted after their elders fled, the films were hardly intended as high art. Instead their main selling point was simulated sex, often with an S&M flavor.
But the best of them had a gritty human realism, filmed with an unbridled freedom (save for the obligatory bed scenes). Impressed critics named products of what was called the Nikkatsu Roman Porno lineup to their annual Top 10 lists, while hailing their makers — including Tatsumi Kumashiro, Chusei Sone, Toshiya Fujita and Masaru Konuma — as true talents. While still a porn factory, Nikkatsu became a training ground for up-and-coming directors, many of whom are still active today.
Though based on an Akutagawa Prize-winning novel by Shinya Tanaka, Shinji Aoyama's new film "Tomogui (Backwater)" recycles and reworks Nikkatsu Roman Porno tropes. The setting is Shimonoseki, a tough Yamaguchi Prefecture port town on the Tsushima Strait; the year is 1988, when the last Nikkatsu Roman Porno film was released and the late Emperor Showa was fighting a losing battle with cancer.