Megumi Igarashi

, who uses the pseudonym , is a Japanese sculptor and manga artist who creates works that feature female genitalia and are often modeled after her own vulva. Rokudenashiko considers it her mission to reclaim female genitalia as part of women's bodies and demystify them in Japan's male dominated society, where she believes that they are "overly hidden" and marginalized as “taboo” and “obscene” in comparison to phallic imagery. As such, the artist has created a variety of different representations of manko, the Japanese slang for vagina or pussy, using representations of her own body as the raw material to emphasize as return to experience within art and manga. Rokudenashiko has been called an international symbol of “manko positivity.”

The self-ascribed pseudonym Rokudenashiko translates to “good-for-nothing-girl,” a descriptive term created by combining rokudenashi (which translates to “good-for-nothing,” “bastard,” “ne’er-do-well”) and the diminutive feminine suffix -ko (usually translated as “girl” or “child”). Accused on the grounds of posting the downloadable 3-D scanned digital data of her vulva for the public as part of her crowdfunding campaign, Rokudenashiko became the first woman in Japanese history tried on the grounds of obscenity. The ensuing legal battle attracted much media attention, both within Japan and internationally, whereby the artist amassed public support and became the subject of online protests about Japan's inconsistent obscenity laws. In 2016, Rokudenashiko was fined 400,000 yen (around US$3,660) for making the data publicly available.

Education and early career Rokudenashiko studied Philosophy at the Kokugakuin University in Tokyo. After graduation, she began to work in the manga industry and was awarded a new artist award from the publisher Kodansha in 1998.

Despite this achievement, the artist was discouraged by the industry's competitive dependency on reader surveys, and eventually found work at a publisher that specialized in the genre of "experiential reportage" , also known as reality manga. The artist has explained that this work has formed the basis for her sculptural artworks—the genre relies on life experience as the source material for manga, using first person voice to depict real events through the eyes of the writer. Rokudenashiko has described her work as "literally putting real experiences into manga.” She claims that women should be able to speak about their bodies without shame, the artist arguing that the vulva should be a "part of the body...no different from arms or legs". She hopes to make the vulva something that is "casual and pop," declaring that in Japan, the "vagina is treated like it's something underground and hidden, so I want to industrialize and mass-produce it."

When Rokudenashiko first began to use a mold of her vulva to create artworks, she treated the idea light-heartedly. However, after receiving a lot of criticism and backlash, she began to use her art as a statement and form of protest.

Many of Rokudenashiko's artworks have been confiscated during police raids in 2014 and 2015, but photographs document her body of work. In these tediously crafted dioramas, Rokudenashiko brings the vaginal form out of its hidden setting, positing it as a setting for the world.

Manko-chan A figurine of Manko-chan made by Igurashi on display in the Vagina Museum in London. Rokudenashiko also created her signature cartoon character Manko-chan (the effeminate suffix -chan added as an endearing way to refer to the manko, often translated into English as Miss Pussy or Cute Little Pussy). Within the museum, visitors can interact with characters in a 3D environment to view and comment on art pieces. Additionally, the museum offers a role-playing experience titled "Detention Game", which is based on her personal experiences. Rokudenashiko has expressed that her goal is that the "Museum provides a fun and cutting-edge alternative to the art industry's existing bias towards physical-world museums"

Man-Boat (2014) and legal battle

In 2013, Rokudenashiko was inspired to make a larger sculptural work through the use of 3-D printing. The crowdfunding platform was online from June 18 - September 6, 2013 and raised ¥1 million (194% of its total goal) from 125 people. Watanabe was later released. After almost a month in jail, Rokudenashiko was indicted on December 24 for three separate counts of violating Japan's obscenity law: "obscenity display", "obscenity electromagnetic record", and "obscenity electromagnetic recording medium distribution." She pleaded not-guilty and was released on bail on December 28.

Trial Rokudenashiko's trial began 14 April 2015 in Tokyo District Court.

During the trial Rokudenashiko spoke out about her situation many times, explaining her perspective to the public and incorporating her legal battle into her artworks. This included attending a press meeting of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in a widely circulated address, as well as giving an address when she won the second place prize in the Tokyo Designers Week Art Fair. She playfully mocked the police in her address at the Art Fair, saying "If I had not been arrested, I could not have spread my activities in this way, I would not have been invited to this event and I could not have let the contemporary art world know the name of Rokudenashiko. I really appreciate all the police’s support."

Domestic and international media attention A clip from Queer Japan featuring Rokudenashiko discussing her art. Rokudenashiko's case drew international attention. Many disputes about women's rights, artistic freedom, censorship, and double standards in Japan emerged due to Igarashi's arrests. An article in The Guardian inquired, "how can it be OK for comics to publish underage pornography but illegal to invite people to 3D scan your vagina?"

The documentary film #Female Pleasure follows Igarashi during the trial. The film is about five women, including her, fighting social taboos regarding female sexuality.

Personal life The artist married Mike Scott, the frontman of Scottish folk rock band The Waterboys, in October 2016. Their first child, a son, was born on 2 February 2017.

Books Rokudenashiko, ワイセツって何ですか？[Waisetsu’tte nandesuka? What is Obscenity?] (Tokyo: Kinyōbi, 2015). Rokudenashiko, 私の体がワイセツ?!女のそこだけなぜタブー [Watashi no karada ga waisetsu?! Onna no soko dake naze tabū, My Body Is Obscene?!: Why Is Only My Lady Part Taboo?], (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 2015). Rokudenashiko, What is Obscenity? The Story of a Good for Nothing Artist and Her Pussy (Koyama Press, 2016), English Translation by A. Ishii

Exhibitions

2012 Deco Man Exhibition, Ginza Vanilla-Mania, Tokyo, Japan

2014 Let's play with Manko! Manko Exhibition, Shinjuku Ophthalmologist （Ganka）Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2016 Feminism Fan in Japan and Friends, Youkobo Art Space, Tokyo SCHAM 100 GRÜNDE, ROT ZU WERDEN, DHMD Museum of Art, Dresden, Germany

2020 BURST Generation: Death and SEX, Shinjuku Ophthalmologist （Ganka）Gallery, Tokyo, Japan COMIC SALON, Museum for Communication Berlin, Berlin, Germany COMIC SALON, Erika Fuchs Haus, Schwarzenbach an der Saale, Germany

2021 Bijyutsu VAGINA, Kyoto KUNST ARZT, Kyoto, Japan

2022 COMIC SALON ERLANGEN, Erlangen, Germany

2023 It’s not here - Considerations on Reality as Virtual Universe, ArtLabTokyo, Tokyo, Japan