TERMINAL BODY PLAY – Masami Akita

Published by Seikyusha Publishing – 1993 – Japan

13,7 cm x 19,4 cm –  228 pages in b&w  – Hard cover with textured dust jacket

Japanese language

Masami Akita (MERZBOW) offers a unique exploration of unconventional topics. Through text (in japanese) and some illustrations, it unveils a global outlook that intertwines Japanese and Western influences, encompassing their respective histories and symbols. The inclusion of bizarre performances from the Vienna Actionists and the influence of Japanese bondage art on Western bondage, as depicted in this book, inevitably stirs curiosity. While presented in short, essay-like fragments and somewhat abstract descriptions, the text touches upon intriguing themes such as the close relationship between medicine and sexuality, the perspective that eroticism is a cultural construct divorced from reproductive functions, and the underlying theme of eroticism surrounding pregnancy. Furthermore, the interpretation of the actions of serial killer Ed Gein, who crafted furniture from human bones and skin, as a manifestation of a Cartesian dualism that mechanistically perceives the human body, is particularly intriguing. While each theme warrants deeper analysis, this book can be regarded as an introductory guide leading towards such examination.

Content:
New Tribalism In Sexual City, Prick Up, Rubbers, Gay Fetishism, Consensual SM, Modern Primitives, Pre-Tech Tattoo, Fakir Musafar, Ignore the White Culture, Body Manipulation, Hyper Pornography, Harrison Marks, Allen Jones, She-Male, Mannequin, Kinbaku, Seppuku, Kyoko Hamura, Rightbrain, Trevor Brown, Roman Slocombe, Medical Art, Forest Of Guts, Auto Erotic, J. P. Witkin, Anatomic Images, Discipline, Yves Klein, Piero Manzoni, Otto Mühl, Hermann Nitsch, Rudolf Schwarzkoglar, Aktion, Meat Performance, Trans-Gender, Transmutation, John Gacy, Ed Gain, Death.