Mondo Macabro Releasing Tokugawa Sex Ban

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

From FB:

We have 3 new Red Case LEs to show you, all US home video premieres! They will go on sale at 9 AM Pacific on Thursday, August 29, only at mondomacabro.bigcartel.com!

First announcement for today is the truly wild exploitation wonder TOKUGAWA SEX BAN! Directed by genre film madman Norifumi Suzuki for the legendary Toei studios in the anything-goes era of the early 1970s! And starring French sexfilm starlet Sandra Julien!
In Tokugawa era Japan, Princess Kiyo (Miki Sugimoto), youngest daughter of mighty Shogun Ienari Tokugawa, weds country lord Tadateru Ogura. Unfortunately for Kiyo, her new husband is a “man’s man” who has no interest in women. To help Tadateru discover his sexual side, his courtiers bring in Sandra (Sandra Jullien, star of RAVISHING DANY and SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRES), a French courtesan who arrives in a wooden box, like a porcelain doll. Her extraordinary sexual technique awakens Tadateru to the fun he’s been missing all these years. Unfortunately, he enjoys it so much that he decides it’s too good for commoners and so enforces a sex ban on the rest of his subjects, decreeing that any of them having intercourse will be executed. Soon the enraged populace are storming Tadateru’s castle with a battering ram shaped like a giant phallus!

One of the more extraordinary films to come out of 1970’s Japan, this astonishing mixture of historical epic, sexploitation, grand guignol gore and political intrigue is a real one-off. Director Norifumi Suzuki also helmed the “nunsploitation” classic, SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEAST as well as the notorious S&M themed STAR OF DAVID: BEAUTY HUNTING (1979). This is a first time US release for TOKUGAWA SEX BAN and a world Blu-ray premiere.

DISC FEATURES

Region A locked
Japanese language with optional English subtitles
New 2K restoration from film negative
Interview with film critic and historian Kōshi Ueno
Audio commentary by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp
Theatrical trailer

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES

Reversible cover sleeve with new art by Justin Coffee on the A side and original ad art on the B; 24 page full color booklet with new writing on the film by Japanese ‘pink film’ expert Dimitri Ianni; three double sided art cards; 1500 numbered copies in the usual red case

[mjeon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mjeon]

Mondo Macabro is making this the year of Sandra Julien!

[Marshall Crist Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Marshall Crist]

It's about time someone did.

[Randy G Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Randy G]

Hot damn.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Great to see Tokugawa Sex Ban coming! Reminded me about this great bit from a Norifumi Suzuki interview (in Sugisaku and Takeuchi's Pinky Violence book).

Sugisaku: "Because Sandra did not use maebari (crotch tape used in Japanese productions to cover the performer's private parts), your film became “Tokugawa Maebari Ban”. (laughs)"

Suzuki: "She said "Why should I put it on? It’s perfectly natural [to be naked]". I think Sugimoto was influenced by her because she stopped using maebari, too!"



Also, an interesting bit of trivia: the film was originally set to star Reiko Ike, but she quit Toei all of a sudden to become a pop idol. Suzuki recalls the story in a very amusing fashion his book Toei Guerilla Senki:

“One of my favourite movies is The Barefoot Contessa, which depicts the turbulent life of a girl played by Ava Gardner, who becomes a star with the help of a third rate Hollywood director played by Humphrey Bogart. Thinking about it, maybe I was a third rate director who did his best to bring up a nameless delinquent Reiko Ike.”

“I was staying in a guest house in Meguro when producer Kanji Amao barged in with a newspaper in his hand. “Reiko Ike to become a singer, refuses to take nude roles anymore. Quits Toei, joins the same music company as (idol) Saori Minami” the scoop said."

“Japan’s Humphrey Bogart stood in silence.”

Suzuki, producer Kanji Amao and screenwriter Masahiro Kakefuda then had to decide a new star in a hurry, and that's how Sugimoto landed her first starring role. From the same book:

“But who should replace Ike in Tokugawa Sex Ban? There was no time to scout a new actress. We got together with producer Amao and screenwriter Kakefuda and narrowed it down to two candidates: Yayoi Watanabe and Miki Sugimoto. “

“I was pretty much decided on Watanabe. She could act and she had a bright personality and a beautiful smile. I had always thought I’d use her for a big role some day. She was a small, typical Japanese girl with transistor glamour - such a word existed back then - [note: 1959 buzzword referring to a woman with a small body build] and would make a great contrast with the tall Sandra Julien. Watanabe was sweet, unlike the dark delinquent girl like Sugimoto.”

“Then I asked Kakefuda, who had sat silently all this time, what he thought?”.

“”I really want to see Sugimoto in the role” Kakefuda said. “I’m ok with either one, but favouring safe over a sense of adventure? That’s unlike you, director Suzuki…”

“”That’s right, director Suzuki without an adventurous spirit has no charm…” producer Amao added.”

“… and the stream just kept flowing towards Sugimoto.”

““Let’s show some professional spirit and get this film done” producer Amao said. “Let’s promote Miki to a new leading lady. Runaway Ike will be surprised, too! “”

note: these are my own translations from the Japanese text and may not be 100% accurate.

[mjeon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mjeon]

"Transistor glamour" is wonderful.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Standard edition coming 3/10/25.