These film anthologies of Ishii's grew out of Japan's "Pink" genre, which were essentially low-budget erotic films and an aspect of Japan's rich sexploitation cinema. However, Ishii's anthologies kickstarted a new genre, which has been termed ero-guro or "erotic grotesque". Ishii was a director who managed to combine eroticism and sleaze with art and technical skill. Orgies of Edo is a notable achievement for its rich colours, cinematography, set design, costumes, experimental scenes and a deep exploration of striking sexual perversions in a historical setting.
Orgies of Edo is set at the height of the Edo Period (1603-1868). Edo, now known as Tokyo, was Japan's capital city and is renowned as the place where Japanese popular culture developed. Kabuki theatre grew out of Edo. Edo was also known as a place of hedonism and indulgence. It is thus fitting that Ishii would set his ero-guro films here.
Orgies of Edo can
be read as a critique on wealth, display and superficiality. At
the very opening of the first story we hear a
narrator "It is the height of the Edo Period and times are prospoerous.
The people contend among themselves to display much pomp, but its all
empty pretense. Behind everything lies depravity and sickness of the
mind". What follows are 3 tales of sexual perversion in which we find
prostitution, sadism, masochism, violent abortions, bestiality, highly unusal
fetishes and gore. The infamous opening scene begins with a close-up of a man's darting eyes as the camera slowly pans backwards. We are already indicated that what follows is a film of voyeurism and a glimpse into a dream/nightmare world of sexual perversion. We see that this man exists in some kind of underworld or "hellscape", arguably reminiscent of Dante or Nobuo Nakagawa's Jigoku (1960). There is a kind of large shelving feature in which various unusual figures are involved in unusual acts. One man seems to suck fluid from a tube conected to a woman above him. A woman with four breasts is seen on a lower compartment and an alsation dog is thrown into the mix.
Orgies of Edo is done with skill and the colour, set designs and costumes are a pleasure to watch. There is a particular scene in the first film, constructed like a dream, where the protagonist Oito is chased by Hanji, a conman who she has fallen for. The set is covered in colourful Kimono fabrics of varying patterns and designs. The backdrop of the scene is red. As Hanji chases Oito, trying to have sex with her, the camera follows them rapidly, with the variously patterned Kimono fabrics flying before our eyes. This scene seems to sum up Orgies of Edo effectively, in that we have a beautiful setting rich in colour juxtaposed by an uneasy sexual game of dominance and essentially rape.An argument can be made that films like Orgies of Edo are beneficial and admirable in that they externalise taboo desires and urges. Not to say that everyone secretly wants to partake of the events in the film. But films like this arguably throw the unconscious out on display and visualise the unusual potentialities of human experience. I don't think the film is condoning the acts it depicts. I believe Ishii is in fact critiquing such acts, which, as acknowledged earlier, are described as a "depravity and sickness of the mind" by a narrating character. But I think there is something healthy in depicting sordid, forbidden practices. The more we talk about and are aware of such things, the more we understand about the hidden recesses of the human mind.
I think the fact that sexploitation films are low budget and often under the radar is a positive thing. These films are not self-consciously trying to live up to critical and acceptable standards. Sexploitation films are on the obscure fringes of culture and are far more free to explore taboo issues than most other films. They are also refreshingly unpretentious and direct. This, as far as I'm concerned, makes them very enjoyable.
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