Sadao Hasegawa: Paintings

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As I have argued above, Japan relied on Soviet neutrality both militarily and diplomatically. Diplomatically, Japan pinned its last hope on Moscow’s mediation for the termination of the war. Only by Soviet entry into the war was Japan forced to make a decision on the Potsdam terms. Militarily as well, Japan’s Ketsu Go strategy was predicated on Soviet neutrality. That was why the General Staff’s Bureau of Military Affairs constantly overruled the Fifth Department’s alarming warnings that a Soviet invasion might be imminent. Manchuria was not written off, as Frank asserts; rather, the military was confident that it could keep the USSR neutral, at least for a while. When the Soviet invasion of Manchuria occurred, the military was taken completely by surprise. Even Asada admits, “[T]he Soviet entry spelled the strategic bankruptcy of Japan.”[98] Despite the repeated bravado calling for the continuation of the war, it pulled the rug right out from underneath the Japanese military, puncturing a gaping hole in their strategic plan. Their insistence on the continuation of the war lost its rationale. In November 1949, Kawabe gave this testimony in response to point-blank questions : “[B]etween the atomic bombing and the entry of Soviet Russia into the war, which of the two factors played a greater part in bringing about the cessation of hostilities?” the U.S. GHQ interrogator, Oi Atsushi, asked. Kawabe replied: AB - For Gengoroh Tagame, Japan’s most recognized and influential contemporary gay erotic artist and critic, Sadao Hasegawa (1945-1999) was “the most representative of Japan’s gay artists.” With a career spanning the 1970s to 1990s, Hasegawa’s rich and expansive oeuvre of erotic and experimental art immensely influenced the practices of several of Japan and Asia’s most prominent queer artists. His vivid style – stretching from realist studies of Caucasian and Japanese bodybuilders to highly stylized and experimental celebrations of Southeast Asian masculinities and cultures – continues to inspire artists in Japan to this day. It would not be a stretch to argue that, along with Tagame himself, Hasegawa remains one of postwar Japan’s most prominent gay erotic artists. Sadao Hasegawa | owlapps. (n.d.). Retrieved July 28, 2021, from http://www.owlapps.net/owlapps_apps/articles?id=17158052&lang=en Hasegawa is regarded as one of the most influential creators of homoerotic art in Japan. Bungaku Itō, the founding editor of Barazoku, a monthly magazine for gay men, described Hasegawa’s art as “transcend[ing] the level of pornography, emulating likenesses found in Buddhist art.” Despite this, Hasegawa’s artwork has received limited exposure in Japan, with only a single monograph – Paradise Visions, published in 1996 by Kochi Studio – having been published domestically.

Though it was initially instituted as a way for queer relationships to mirror the power dynamics inherent to any heterosexual relationship that exists in a patriarchal society, it has since been weaponized against the queer community. Used to insist queerness is inherently related to pedophilia and separate the younger members from the older. Baron is pleased to present the first posthumous book by Japanese artist Sadao Hasegawa (Jan 1945- Nov 1999), dedicated to Hasegawa’s rarely-published archive. If The Beatles were an avant-garde gay band with complicated concepts and their own religion, something between Coil and Psychic TV, then the Japanese artist Sadao Hasegawa (1945-1999) would be their all-time favorite designer. He could become an underground icon of the hippie sixties and seventies with the people's enthusiasm about cults, drugs, and free love, but for some reason, Hasegawa didn't want to be famous abroad. Yet our suggestion allows us to fully describe the art of this mystic who preferred committing suicide rather than getting old. Soren no tainichi saigo tsucho ni taishite torubeki sochi no kenkyu,” in Nishihara Masao, Shusen no keii, Vol. 1, 104-08; Kurihara and Hatano, eds., Shusen kosaku no kiroku, 2: 363–64. The halls of queer history are filled with art. Sadao Hasegawa is another name in a long list of iconic creators who have shaped and changed their culture. His name most often shows up in lists, tied to two others. First, Tom of Finland remains one of the most well-known figures in queer art history. He is described as the “most influential creator of gay pornographic images.” The other name tied to Sadao’s is Yukio Mashima, an author equally controversial as he was iconic. It is primarily due to Hasegawa’s admiration that his name is linked to Mashima’s, as well as their similar deaths.Rather, what decisively changed the views of the Japanese ruling elite was the Soviet entry into the war. It catapulted the Japanese government into taking immediate action. For the first time, it forced the government squarely to confront the issue of whether it should accept the Potsdam terms. In the tortuous discussions from August 9 through August 14, the peace party, motivated by a profound sense of betrayal, fear of Soviet influence on occupation policy, and above all by a desperate desire to preserve the imperial house, finally staged a conspiracy to impose the “emperor’s sacred decision” and accept the Potsdam terms, believing that under the circumstances surrendering to the United States would best assure the preservation of the imperial house and save the emperor. Hasegawa was born in 1945 [1] in the Tōkai region of Japan. In his twenties, he traveled to India and began to take up drawing. His first solo exhibition, "Sadao Hasegawa's Alchemism: Meditation for 1973" was held in 1973 in Tokyo, Japan, and featured oil paintings, collages, and sculptures. [6] In 1978, Hasegawa's art was published for the first time in Barazoku, a monthly magazine for gay men; [2] he would later go on to be published in Sabu [ ja], Samson, and Adon [ ja]. [3] a b c d e f Adonna, Steve (Summer 2000). "Impressions of Sadao Hasegawa". The Tom of Finland Foundation . Retrieved November 20, 2018.

N A R U Y A M A. (n.d.). Retrieved July 28, 2021, from http://www.gallery-naruyama.com/english/exhibition-eng/sadao1978-eng.html Today, Hasegawa holds a distinguished position as a forerunner of homoerotic art within Japan, championing one of few non-European perspectives in the modern genre. Bungaku Itō, the visionary founder of Japan’s first gay magazine, Barazoku, hailed Hasegawa’s art as transcending the realm of pornography, evoking the essence of Buddhist artistry. Nevertheless, Hasegawa’s artistic creations have remained relatively concealed. However, a compilation of his magazine works titled Sadao Hasegawa: Paintings and Drawings emerged from the British publisher Gay Men’s Press in 1990. A more comprehensive monograph, Paradise Visions, saw the light of day in 1996 through Kochi Studio’s domestic publication in Japan. And more recently, in 2022, Baron Books, the cult UK-based publisher, unveiled an inaugural posthumous monograph, delving into Hasegawa’s seldom-seen archives. Lieutenant-General Ikeda Sumihisa, director of the General Planning Agency, testified that “upon hearing of the Soviet entry into the war, I felt that our chances were gone.” Having served in the Kwantung Army, he knew its condition well. The Kwantung Army was no more than a hollow shell, largely because it had been transferring its troops, equipment, and munitions to the home islands since the latter part of 1944 in anticipation of the homeland defense. Ikeda often told the commander of the Kwantung Army “that if the USSR entered the war, Japan would never be able to continue the war.” He firmly believed that “in the event that the Soviet [Union] entered the war, Japan’s defeat would be a foregone conclusion.”[54] Having written all of this does not mean that this was the reason for Sadao Hasegawa’s death in particular. While the possibility does push forward an interesting conversation that must be had within the queer community, that does not make it the truth. Suicide has a myriad of causes, and it is impossible to know the entirety of Hasegawa’s situation without his clarification. With certainty, all that can be said is that the queer community has lost more than it can know due to the loss of his life. REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGBeauty, eroticism and death are recurring themes in Hasegawa’s work; he was inspired by Nobel Prize nominee Yukio Mishima. After Hasegawa’s suicide in 1999, his family was going to dispose of the artists archive but discovered a portrait of Mishima painted on a stone, accompanied by a note requesting that the works be bequeathed to Gallery Naruyama, Tokyo, where the artist’s estate is today. Today, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. In the section of Tokyo, known as Kudan, stands the mighty Yasukini shrine. Directly in from of the shrine is the Maruyama Gallery. It is here, that the opening ceremonies for a show of works by Sadao Hasegawa are being held. From a window in the gallery, a clear view of the Indian Embassy is visible. It was in India, that the birth of Buddha took place. Perhaps, the two masters are eternally inseparable.” a b Naruyama, Akimitsu (January 14, 2015). "Sadao Hasegawa". Gadabout Magazine . Retrieved November 20, 2018. Edo-Period Shungas (erotic art), his obsession and display of beauty in the male body and sex combined with Frank’s argument is questionable in his methodology here. If he discounts Kawabe’s and Toyoda’s testimonies as having been given years after the events in question, why should Suzuki’s testimony, which was given several months after the end of the war, be deemed more reliable? Frank’s method of looking critically at testimonies made after the events is admirable, but he is inconsistent in this approach.

a b c d Ishii, Anne; Kidd, Chip; Kolbeins, Graham, eds. (December 18, 2014). Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It. Fantagraphics. p.277. Maj. Gen. Amano Masakazu, Historical Manuscript File; also see Amano Masakazu Chinjutsusho, GHQ Senshika, vol. 6, Chuo Shusen shori 228, Boei Kenkyujo Senshishitsu. The English translation of the Historical Manuscript File is modified in view of the original Japanese testimony in the Boei kenkyujo. a b c d Naruyama, Akimitsu (1 December 2008). "HASEGAWA SADAO". #205 Matsuoka Kudan Bldg. 2-2-8 Kudan Minami, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 102-0074 Japan. Naruyama Gallery . Retrieved 25 February 2013.

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The belief that younger queer men are inherently more beautiful, joyful, or have more potential does direct harm to older queer men. Beauty, joy, and potential do not fade with age. During an interview with Oi Atsushi for the military history project of Military Intelligence Section of the General Staff of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), Togo said that he suggested to the emperor on August 8 that Japan should accept the Potsdam terms. Continuing the question, Oi tried to establish that Togo and the emperor had already decided to terminate the war on the terms stipulated in the Potsdam Proclamation before the Soviet entry into the war. Togo equivocated, saying that Soviet mediation would not be limited only to the clarification of the Potsdam terms. He was not sure whether the Kremlin would convey Japan’s wishes to the Allied powers or would take the trouble to make an arrangement for Japan to hold direct negotiations with the United States and Britain. To this, Oi interjected by saying that whether they went through Moscow or by a direct route, the meaning was that the war would be terminated on the basis of the Potsdam Proclamation. Togo agreed, but without conviction. “Togo Shigenori chinjutsuroku,” in Kurihara and Hatano, eds., Shusen kosaku no kiroku, 2: 357–58.

Kawabe’s diary also reveals his confusion. If his judgment proved wrong, logically it should follow that the strategy that he had advocated based on the erroneous assumption should have been reexamined. Instead of adopting this logical deduction, Kawabe “did not feel like peace and surrender in this situation.” This was not rational strategic thinking, but a visceral reluctance to accept surrender. The only rationale he could justify for the continuation of war was “the honor of the Yamato race.” His insistence on fighting was also a preemptive move, anticipating, quite correctly, that the peace party would launch a coordinated move to end the war. Nevertheless, his argument for the continuation of war indicated the degree of the army’s desperation and confusion. In fact, as the Bureau of Military Affairs report to the Diet in September 1945 indicated, army planners rejected the “counterforce” effects of atomic weapons in a battleground situation. It states: “It is true that the appearance of the atomic bomb brought a great psychological threat, but since its use would be extremely difficult on the battleground, in view of the close proximity of the two forces and scattered units, we were convinced that it would not directly affect our preparations for homeland defense.”[60] Toyoda’s testimony, quoted above, also questioned the American intention to rely on the atomic bombs. When it came down to the military plan, it was not Suzuki’s view, but the views of the Army and Navy General Staff that mattered most.attention overseas, with publications in the UK and numerous contributions to magazines in the US and The Soviets have finally risen! [So wa tsuini tachitari!] My judgment has proven wrong. But now that the situation has come to this, we should not consider seeking peace. We had half anticipated this military situation and the military fortune. There is nothing to think about. To save the honor of the Yamato race, there is no other way but to keep fighting. When we decided to begin the war, I always belonged to the soft and prudent faction, but once the situation has come to this, I don’t like to think about peace and surrender. Whatever the outcome, we have no choice but to try.[46] This is, of course, not to deny completely the effect of the atomic bomb on Japan’s policymakers. It certainly injected a sense of urgency in finding an acceptable end to the war. Kido stated that while the peace party and the war party had previously been equally balanced in the scale, the atomic bomb helped to tip the balance in favor of the peace party.[100] It would be more accurate to say that the Soviet entry into the war, adding to that tipped scale, then completely toppled the scale itself.