 Japan's
Supreme Court has ruled that a collection of erotic photographs by the
late Robert Mapplethorpe does not violate obscenity laws, a decision
that should allow the sale of the book for the first time in eight
years.
The decision overturns a 2003 Tokyo High Court ruling that the book
Mapplethorpe was indecent, court spokesman Takashi Ando said. It was
believed to be the first time the top court has overruled a lower court
ruling on obscenity.
The court, however, rejected publisher Takashi Asai's demands for
government compensation of 2.2 million yen (US$20,370).
In the ruling, justice Kohei Nasu said the book of black-and-white
portraits compiles works from the artistic point of view, and is not
obscene as a whole.
The decision, a majority opinion of the five-judge bench, also
recognized Mapplethorpe as an artist who has won high appreciation as
a leading figure in contemporary art.
Japanese customs have a long history of applying conservative obscenity
standard, by targeting all clear genital images in prints and films
across the board, forcing film distributors and publishers to alter the
parts, prompting criticisms by artists who said such measures insult
their works.
Publisher Asai called the ruling “groundbreaking” and said it could
change the obscenity standard used for banning foreign films that
show nudity and censoring photographs in books.
In a commentary Tuesday, the Yomiuri newspaper said that the Supreme
Court ruling reflected a change in the concept of what constitutes
obscenity: Obscene images have spread on the Internet and are
accessible to anyone. The supreme court must have decided that calling a
highly acclaimed photographer's book ‘obscenity' does not fit today's
social norm.
Asai had sold about 900 copies the Japanese version of “Mapplethorpe,”
which was originally published by Random House, in Japan starting in
1994 without objection from authorities. But airport customs officials
in Japan confiscated a copy he had with him when he returned from a trip
to the U.S. in 1999. The 384-page book contained 20 close-up photos of
male genitalia, and authorities considered it obscene.
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