Shikijô ama: Fundoshi matsuri

Spirited, likable erotic outing from Nikkatsu. None of the hard edged violence to be seen in almost all the previous releases from Impulse, this even has comedic elements. Plenty of flesh on display and pretty varied too, some 'soaplands' stuff and even some adult baby added to the mix. Supposedly part of the Japanese 'ama' genre, it has to be said that most of the pearl diving going on here is of the sexual variety. Nevertheless just enough local colour, including a giant phallus procession and unusual use (or misuse) of temple facilities. Jasper Sharp mentions in his excellent book, Behind The Pink Curtain and repeats in his fine film notes here, that a more appropriate title translation here would be, Lusty Ama: Loincloth Festival, but we won't come to blows over a snappy title change. Well worth a watch but maybe only the one.

The two page insert on this DVD from Impulse's Nikkatsu Erotic Films Collection line, written by the always informative Jasper Sharp, gives a good idea of the long history of the Ama, or female diver, genre. The Ama were apparently a pretty popular subject of films, both Japanese and from elsewhere (generally of the Mondo variety), as well as of photography. There was even a spread in National Geographic. A lot of these older films (and treatments in other media) sound interesting. The film in question? Nah, not really. It's a rather boring erotic comedy. The story is too far in the back seat to ever generate any real laughs, and the eroticism is fairly dull. Most of the women are sexy, but the sex acts are mostly not very much so. Oh well, it's an amusing title and DVD cover for my collection.