The close quarters and hyper-traditionalism of Japanese society also breed more extreme outlets for sexual tension. Bondage and rape manga, ubiquitous comic books read in public or in private by schoolboys and sararimen alike, showcase anti-female brutality on a grand scale, shorn up by the antique notion that women like to be raped and deserve it for dressing provocatively in any case. Videos of the same ilk, real and animated, are often on display in video stores and some convenience stores, including degradation tapes in which women lick men's feet, suffer enemas or have various foul concoctions dumped on their tied-down bodies. Though all genitalia in photos and videos are digitally blurred by law, companies have been known to release small runs of uncensored material, close up shop and then quickly reopen in a new location with a new name.

No beaded curtains stand between browsers and bondage -- everything's on the shelf. Underground "pervert shops" sell schoolgirl uniforms and underwear wrapped in plastic, with accompanying Polaroids of young women wearing the sale items. It's said that the girls sell their used bras and panties willingly, but the photos themselves often belie any sort of pride in the transaction.