Tagame's depiction of men as muscular and hairy has been cited as a catalyst for a shift in fashion amongst gay men in 1995, away from the clean-shaven and slender bishōnen stereotypes and towards a tendency for masculinity and chubbiness.

Most of his work first appeared in gay magazines and usually feature sexual abuse.

Tagame has been called the most influential creator of gay manga in Japan to date, and 'the most talented and most famous author of sado-masochistic gay manga'. An exhibition of his works was held in France in May 2009. An artbook of his works has also been published in France by H&O Editions. His manga Gunji (軍次) was translated into French in 2005, followed by Arena in 2006 and Goku in 2009. Works of his include: Jujitsu Kyoshi at B Product Emono, Shirogane no Hana (3 vol.) and Pride (3 vol.) at G-Project. In recent years, Tagame has edited a two volume artbook series about the history of gay erotic art in Japan from the 1950s to the present, 日本のゲイ・エロティック・アート (Nihon no gei, erotikku āto, Gay Erotic Art in Japan) volumes 1 and 2.Īll his works contain 'virile males, or youths, and their apprenticeship of physical and mental submission'. Since 1986, he has used the pen-name Gengoroh Tagame, and since 1994 Tagame has lived off the profits of his art and writings. His works have been published in several Japanese gay magazines, including Sabu, G-men and SM-Z. The men he depicts are hypermasculine, and tend to be on the bearish side.īorn into a family descended from samurai, Tagame began his career as a manga artist in 1982, while he was studying graphic design at Tama Art University (多摩美術大学).

Gengoroh Tagame is a Japanese manga artist who specializes in gay BDSM erotic manga, many of which depict graphic violence.

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