Why are we so fascinated with pain? More importantly, can Japanese media help us answer this question?*

In the movie Tokyo Decadence, a young college girl, Ai, watches rich Japanese men submit themselves to the dominance of women. To answer the first question of this post in a shallow way, pain is fascinating because it is often taboo; Tokyo Decadence is banned in a couple countries, most notably Japan’s geographical and historical neighbor, South Korea. But why are these men actively searching for pain? Why would anyone willingly put themselves before the whip?

Ryu Murakami explained, “People need to express themselves sometimes. Otherwise, they get completely stressed out. And games like S&M give them a chance to express themselves. It’s hardly a matter of good or bad.” But the stance Murakami takes in his movie isn’t persuasive in my opinion. At the very least, it doesn’t seem complete. He thinks the anxiety of the modern Japanese man comes from having money without pride, which somehow drives them to masochism. As a result, Japanese men must either stop spending or release their stress through masochism. While this does get us somewhere, it doesn’t get us far enough. At some point, the pain and pleasure in Tokyo Decadence become sexual, as clearly demonstrated by their outfits and sex being a major theme in the movie in general. How, then, does having money without pride — and the anxiety this brings about — eventually give rise to sex?

What can really be said about the abundance of female-on-male** violence in anime? MM! is an interesting example because whereas most mainstream anime would deal with the violence as merely slapstick humor on the surface, leaving the rest to be debated in between the lines, the sexual nature of the pleasure derived from pain is overt in MM!:

In many anime, boys and girls blush even when they’re holding hands — even when their eyes catches the glance of the other gender. Sexual pleasure remains distant and elusive for most of these couples. Perhaps, then, the only recourse is the opposite end of the spectrum: pain.

Maybe we just want to feel period. In Audition, the femme fatale tells her victim, “Words create lies. Pain can be trusted… (pause) right? You can feel pain.” The last sentence is crucial: unable to feel either the empty promises of words or pleasure in general, she opts to dispense pain.

“When you feel pain, you’ll understand.”

But is the pain in Audition sexual? It most likely is; sex, again, plays a huge role in Miike’s dark movie. More importantly, maybe the motivation underlying the movie can help explain what’s going on in MM!

Before diving back into MM!, consider what Rob Ager has to say in his analysis of sadomasochism in Hellraiser:

Self punishment or surrendering to pain infliction by others eliminates guilt. For those who are cursed with intense sexual desire, but find their desires conflicting… perhaps it is tempting to willingly engage the punishment…. This in effect gives… pleasure…. — Rob Ager

The idea of guilt being intertwined with the masochist is echoed in a book on this very topic by Mark Edmundson:

For the masochist, pleasure is paid for immediately and fully with pain. The masochist can enjoy piquant, long-wished-for joys that conscience has forbidden, for now conscience can also have what it deeply desires: the pleasure of punishing the transgressions. Morality and appetite are alternately satisfied…. The masochist, we’re told, often leaves the encounter in a state of harmony, moral and sexual passions both expended, the inner balance at soothing zero. (134)

Achieving that stage of pure bliss is often the key in MM! Pain only seems to bring Sado Tarou closer to the heavens:

But can we also say that Sado Tarou is released from guilt when the various anime girls in MM! punish him? Is it sexual guilt? In numerous instances throughout the anime, the pleasure Tarou feels hints deeply at being sexual in nature. Along the same lines, is his pain sexual as well? You make the call.

Personally, I believe his pain is sexual. Tarou seems to derive no pleasure in the first episode when his best friend started physically abusing him. His masochistic tendencies are thus gendered. He also makes an effort to note that beautiful women are punishing him. Although sex is never explicitly spelled out in clear terms, it’s an undercurrent running through the anime.

* This post isn’t aiming for a complete and exhaustive look at the topic. For the most part, I have dealt mostly with the masochistic aspect of the unequal power relations in sadomasochism. The sadist role occupied by the girls in MM! deserves an equal look, but perhaps for another post.

** Sadomasochism is, of course, not limited to simply female-on-male relations. I am certain something interesting can be said of the sadomasochistic tendencies in some seme-uke relationships of yaoi, but I will leave that to someone else to address. I am no expert of even mainstream anime. As a result, anything I could say of yaoi would likely be full of errors and presumptuous at best.

Edit: I have decided to revise parts of the post in an effort for clarity after a brief discussion with Taka in the comments.