First, yet another update to the collage-making Perl script. I added a number of tweaks so that I could reduce blank spots and overlap. If my interest holds up, I may add code to search for the largest empty areas more intelligently, but the current version works pretty well, and only took 13 seconds to generate a 1024x4096 collage of 481 naughty-book covers at 36% of their original size.
Warning! Clicking on the thumbnail loads a 1 megabyte JPEG that is unlikely to be work-safe:
Yes, I’m up to 481 covers. Some of them are second-rate, and some of the titles reflect subject matter less innocent than the cover images, but there’s a lot of terrific cheesecake in there. I’m probably going to track down the names of several of the artists so I can look for collections of their work.
One thing I didn’t do as I was idly gathering covers was keep track of the original pages on Amazon, so if I want to do something with the book titles, I have to type them back in by hand. This isn’t too bad, since I can sketch most unfamiliar kanji on my laptop’s trackpad, and find most of the remaining oddballs with Ben Bullock’s Multi-radical search tool, but it turns out that for many of the books, the really spicy bits are in the sub-titles, which are often too small to read. In some cases, the large title is just the series name.
Still, I’ve done enough to confidently state that at least one of the following words appears on the cover of almost every naughty novel in Japan. Sometimes three at once, with three at once. Cut out and save this handy guide!
妻 | tsuma | wife |
花嫁 | hanayome | bride |
人妻 | hitozuma | another man's wife |
未亡人 | miboujin | widow |
義母 | gibo | mother-in-law |
義姉 | gishi | sister-in-law (elder) |
義妹 | gimai | sister-in-law (younger) |
兄嫁 | aniyome | older brother's wife |
伯母/叔母 | oba | aunt (older/younger) |
従姉/従妹 | itoko | female cousin (older/younger) |
母 | haha | mother |
ママ | mama | mother |
お姉さん | oneesan | older sister (also young woman) |
姉 | ane | older sister |
妹 | imouto | younger sister |
姉妹 | shimai | sisters |
教師 | kyoushi | teacher |
先生 | sensei | teacher |
保母さん | hobo-san | kindergarten teacher |
管理人さん | kanrinin-san | landlady |
秘書 | hisho | private secretary |
美人 | bijin | beautiful woman |
美少女 | bishoujo | beautiful girl |
恋人 | koibito | lover |
天使 | tenshi | angel |
天女 | tennyo | celestial maiden |
誘惑 | yuuwaku | temptation |
あこがれ | akogare | yearning |
蜜 | mitsu | honey |
秘密 | himitsu | secret |
ないしょ | naisho | secret |
みだら | midara | naughty |
煽情 | senjou | suggestive |
甘い | amai | sweet |
個人 | kojin | private/individual |
授業 | jugyou | lesson |
学習 | gakushuu | tutorial/study |
温泉 | onsen | hot springs |
パラダイス | paradaisu | paradise |
学園 | gakuen | school |
密会 | mikkai | clandestine meeting |
吐息 | toiki | sigh |
萌 | moe | fascination |
香り | kaori | scent |
ごっくん | gokkun | "swallowing" |