Sanshi Funayama (船山三四, Funayama Sanshi, c. 1920s – c. 1999) was a Japanese homoerotic fetish artist. Funayama, along with Go Mishima, Tatsuji Okawa, and Go Hirano, is regarded by artist and historian Gengoroh Tagame as a central figure in the first wave of contemporary gay artists in Japan.[1]
Sanshi Funayama | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1920s (estimated) |
| Died | 1999 (estimated) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Known for | Erotic illustration |
Biography
editFunayama's artwork first appeared in the early 1960s in Fuzokukitan, a fetish magazine that published gay content alongside straight and lesbian content. He later contributed to Bara, a private circulation gay magazine, and Barazoku, the first commercially published gay magazine in Japan.[1]
From the 1970s until the late 1990s, Funayama disappeared from public life, and did not publish or circulate art for over three decades.[2] In 1999, he resurfaced to submit two illustrations to the magazine G-men, with a promise to submit additional works. No further works were submitted by Funayama which, combined with his presumed advanced age, led his contemporaries to assume he had died.[3]
Little is known about Funayama's private life. Married with a daughter,[3] Funayama worked as a police officer; he drew while on night shift, and kept his illustrations in his work locker.[2] He was an acquaintance of the writer Yukio Mishima, who would visit Funayama while in Kansai.[2]
Style and Impact
editFunayama is noted for his depictions of "macho-type" men, often in extreme scenarios involving BDSM, torture, and graphic violence. Police officers appear frequently in his work.[2]
Funayama is a favorite artist of Gengoroh Tagame, who has praised Funayama's works as "one of the peaks in gay erotic art."[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Tagame, Gengoroh, ed. (December 19, 2003). Gay Erotic Art in Japan Vol. 1: Artists From the Time of the Birth of Gay Magazines. Pot Publishing.
- ^ a b c d Kolbeins, Graham (June 29, 2013). "Illustrations by Sanshi Funayama". Gay Manga!. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ^ a b Koymasky, Matt. "Death at his Post". Homoerotic Art Museum. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
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