Scholarship on Japan has recently broadened to include minority perspectives on communities from marginal workers to those whose sexuality has long been marginalized. This volume, with its combination of ethnography in the gay and lesbian communities and the use of historical sources such as journals and documents, breaks important new ground in this field. It examines issues of gay life in the Japanese fifteen year/Pacific War, addresses lesbian as well as gay issues, examines the interface of queer society with the U.S. occupation and the international community, contests major interpretations of contemporary queer society, and introduces readers to the development of lesbian and gay communities in postwar Japan. Including a wealth of images from the perverse press, this book will appeal to students and general readers interested in modern and contemporary Japan and in gender studies and sexuality.