A Japanese court says the vagina figurines by artist Rokudenashiko are actually art and not obscenities. pic.twitter.com/yAiv6cnlhR
— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 9, 2016
Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi and her vagina are on a mission in Japan, where phalluses and other representations of male genitalia can at times be ubiquitous, but where similar representations of the vagina are still mostly taboo.
In response, Igarashi has made art modeled on her own vagina, which she had scanned, later sending data to over two dozen people that would enable them to use 3D printing to create a replica.
Igarashi, who goes by the name Rokudenashiko, which roughly translates to "good-for-nothing girl," also made a kayak based on her vagina:
“Vagina Kayak” artist Megumi Igarashi found guilty of distributing obscene images https://t.co/yN8EfEDAZZpic.twitter.com/liqxS4YfZ8
— Flavorwire (@flavorwire) May 9, 2016
And she made some figurines, which you can see above. All of this was enough to get Igarashi arrested nearly two years ago in Japan, on obscenity charges. She was also briefly jailed then, but vowed to fight the charges, winning a partial victory on Monday after a court there ruled that the figurines were "pop art," according to Reuters.
But the 3D-printing data, the court ruled, did count as obscene. Igarashi was fined 400,000 yen, or around $3,700.
Igarashi declared herself "20-percent happy" with the verdict, according to Reuters, though her lawyers said that the figurine victory could be historic—the first step in getting rid of a sexist taboo.
"This verdict is extremely rare," one lawyer said.
For her part, Igarashi said that, nonetheless, she was "indignant" and would appeal, telling reporters that she was "completely innocent."