Although pornography in Japan has a long history and is a major business, until recently, the adult video industry did not develop a broad-based set of awards for sales or performance such as the AVN Awards in American pornography.
That has changed in recent years, and the two primary awards given at present (which are covered in separate articles) are the AV Grand Prix for retail and internet videos and the Adult Broadcasting Awards for programs broadcast on Japanese satellite TV.
This text is focused on the various earlier Japanese adult video awards given in the period 1991–2008, none of which are presently active. Some were given only infrequently and many were limited to particular studios or groups of companies.
The Tokyo Sports Film Awards (東京スポーツ映画大賞) are sponsored by the Japanese tabloid newspaper Tokyo Sports. The award ceremonies are always held in January for movies in the previous year. The first awards were given in 1991 for the 1990 cinema year. The awards were for mainstream movies but occasionally awards were also given for adult video work. The sometimes idiosyncratic selections were made by famed filmmaker and actor Takeshi Kitano. Adult awards ended with the establishment of the Takeshi Kitano Entertainment Awards in 2000.[1][2][3]
The Takeshi Kitano Entertainment Awards (ビートたけしのエンターテインメント賞) were begun by Tokyo Sports in 2000 for the 1999 entertainment year. They run in parallel with the Tokyo Sports Film Awards. Filmmaker, director and actor Takeshi Kitano is the head of the screening committee. Awards are given in the Performing Arts but from the start they have included categories for adult video work. The adult awards ceased after the 2006 presentations.[1][2][3]
X City, the "BIGGEST ADULT SITE IN JAPAN!!", is the website of the Kuki Inc. conglomerate of adult video producers which includes Alice Japan, Media Station (Cosmos Plan), Max-A, SexiA, VIP and others.[8] For a time it sponsored a fan vote based competition called the Adult Video Grand Prix (or Grandprix) which gave awards in various categories. Voting was done at the official website usually in November and early December for works and actresses nominated for that year. Results were announced in late December. Most of the nominees and awards for actresses and videos are from companies associated with Kuki.
Determined by fan e-mail votes from the official website. Votes were for New Faces, Big Breasts, Most Beautiful and Wildest. The overall Grand Prix winner was chosen from a combination these votes.[11] The voting period was from November 12 to December 12, 1999 and the winners were announced December 24, 1999.[12]
Also nominated for Best New Actress were Akiho Yoshizawa, Miyuki Uehara, Hijiri Kayama, Mirano Matsushita, Yuki Maioka, Yuna Mizumoto and Yuria Yoshinaga[18]
Best Video Title Award
Welcome to Max Cafe: Maria Takagi (Max Cafeへようこそ! 高樹マリア) from Max-A Calen label (starring Maria Takagi and directed by Taira Takano)
The Soft On Demand (SOD) porn conglomerate had its own Grand Prix awards before it sponsored the AV Open. The first awards were presented in 2002 and the 5th and last event took place in Tokyo in 2006. As usual with studio awards, prizes were given to actresses and staff from the SOD group of companies.
The 2003 SOD Award (SOD大賞) ceremony was held on November 26, 2003, at the Century Hyatt hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo, a 40 million yen party with 500 attendees mostly devoted to professional wrestling with AV awards and actresses as a side attraction. Actresses from the American porn company Vivid Entertainment were also part of the scene.[21][22] Hostess for the awards ceremony was future AV superstar Nana Natsume making her first appearance for SOD.[23]
The 4th SOD Award (2005年 第4回 SOD大賞) ceremony was held December 14, 2005 at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo. In addition to the awards, the inauguration of the AV Open competition in association with Tokyo Sports was announced and representatives from the various studios involved in the AV Open contest were present.[24][25]
SOD Award (for contributions to company sales and image)
The 5th and last SOD Award (2006年第5回SOD大賞) ceremony was held in Tokyo on December 14, 2006. The SOD awards were subsequently replaced by the broader based AV Open competition.[26][27]
SOD Award (for contributions to company sales and image)
At a ceremony held in Tokyo on December 15, 2004, the KMP studio announced the winners of their in-house Million Academy Award Prize (ミリオンアカデミー大賞受賞) contest which was determined by fan voting:[28]
Academy Award Prize
The Woman Called Nao (NAOと呼ばれた女) starring Nao Oikawa and nao, and directed by Goro Tameike
Awards for excellence
Best Friend 2 (ベストフレンド2) starring Karen Kisaragi and Kasumi Misato, and directed by Goro Tameike
Ayaya Cos 3 (あやや・コス3) starring Ran Monbu and directed by Hideto Aki
It's the Occupation of Million's Girls! (ミリオンガールズのお仕事ですよ!) starring nao, Miyuki Uehara, Kyoko Nakajima, Asuka Sawaguchi and Miyu Sugiura, and directed by Goro Tameike
Cosplay Superstar Hitomi Hayasaka (コスプレスーパースター完全版 早坂ひとみ) starring Hitomi Hayasaka and directed by Ryoichi Murakami
The Hirorin awards (ヒロリン大賞2006) were determined by a combination of viewer votes and total sales of videos. This award from the "AV Actress Hirorin Fan Blog" website seems to have been given only for 2006. It should be distinguished from the 2006 AV Open contest awards and from the later AV Grand Prix competition.[29][30]
The D-1 Climax (D-1 クライマックス) awards were a competition among directors. The AV studio Dogma invited a number of directors to produce a video under the Dogma label. The winner was determined by sales of the video over a three-month period and judges' votes.[31]
Nine directors were chosen for the first competition. Videos were released on September 15, 2005, as Dogma D1-001 through D1-009. Dogma also released a DVD with scenes from the videos and a bonus video of the D-1 Climax ceremonies.[31][32][33]
Director's Grand Prix Award
TOHJIRO for M Drug - Female Meat Toilet - Mayura Hoshitsuki [D1-009] with Mayura Hoshitsuki
Hitoshi Nimura (2nd place) for The Most Naughty Thing In This World (この世で、いちばんエロいコト。ダブル痴女の濃厚接吻セックス&ふたなりレズ) [D1-008] with Ramu Amamiya & Airu Kaede
Baba The Babee (3rd place) for Shit Freedom (くそ解禁 七海ここな・西村あみ) [D1-004] with Kokona Nanami & Ami Nishimura
For the second contest, 11 directors competed with videos released by Dogma on September 15, 2006, as a series of DVDs numbered D1-201 through D1-211. Once again, a video was released with selected scenes plus the D-1 Climax ceremony. The award ceremonies which took place on December 20, 2006, also featured an open audition for 42 prospective actresses and the "Erotic Cinderella Award" (エロシンデレラ) for Best Actress.[31][32][34]
Director's Grand Prix Award
TOHJIRO for Getting High On Lesbian Fist-fucking - A Young Girl Dream Is To Be Fist-fucked (レズフィスト・ドラッグ 長谷川ちひろ 友田真希) [D1-211] with Maki Tomoda & Chihiro Hasegawa
Itaka Smithering (2nd place) for Pheromone Drug - Ecstasy With a Big Bang (脳内麻薬 ~爆音中出しアクメ~ 持田茜) [D1-207] with Akane Mochida
Hitoshi Nimura (3rd place) for Hermaphrodite - Lesbian Climax (ふたなりレズビアンCLIMAX 立花里子×大塚ひな ) [D1-210] with Riko Tachibana & Hina Otsuka
In the third and last competition, 14 directors produced videos, released by Dogma on September 15, 2007, as a series of DVDs numbered D1-301 through D1-314. There was also an open audition for 60 aspiring porn actresses as part of the award ceremonies held on December 29, 2007.[32][35][36]
Director's Grand Prix Award
Hitoshi Nimura for Why Pussy Loves Pussy - Lesbian School Girls Addicted To Orgasm [D1-313] with Kasumi Nanase, Rika Nagasawa & Rina Yuki
Baba The Babee (2nd place) for Black Baby Zero [D1-312] with Rico
Hiroshi Washimoto (3rd place) for No-Bra Salon - The Ultimate Treatment (ノーブラサロン NB極上トリートメント ) [D1-302] with Reiko Katahara, Saki Tsuji, Yuu Tsuyuno, Haruna Yokoyama & Ayu Akihara
The Moodyz Awards began in 2001 as part of a year-end bonenkai (忘年会) party held for Moodyz actresses and staff to honor achievements during the year. Awards were given for actresses, directors, and video titles with the most prestigious prize being the Moodyz Award.
The party and award ceremony were held at the 'NEPUSHISU" Restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo on December 27, 2001, with 217 participants.[37] The following awards were given:[38]
Moodyz Award
Dream School 2 (ドリーム学園2) starring Mio Okazaki, Bunko Kanazawa (as Fumiko Kanazawa), Izumi Seika, Mami Goto, Megumi Shirasaki, Ran Fujimaru, Anna Kuramoto & Nana Mizuno, directed by Taikei Shimizu.[39]
The party and awards ceremony were held in Ebisu, Tokyo on December 18, 2002, with 400 people in attendance.[40] Awards were given in the following categories:[38]
Held in Ebisu, Tokyo on December 17, 2003, with more than 700 people participating including actresses and actors, managers, friends, directors and staff, and the press.[44] Awards presented were:[38]
Moodyz Award
Digital Mosaic Vol. 11 (デジタルモザイク Vol.011) starring An Nanba, directed by Sabbath Horinaka
The ceremony took place on December 22, 2004, at a hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo with about 120 AV actresses present. Also represented at the party in addition to Moodyz were AV studios Attackers, Madonna and IdeaPocket.[45][46] The 2004 awards for the Moodyz company were:[47]
Bukkake Nakadashi Anal Fuck (ぶっかけ中出しアナルFUCK!) starring An Nanba and directed by Katsuyuki Hasegawa.[48]
Dosukoi (どすこい) starring Sakura Sakurada, Yuria Yoshinaga, Kirari Koizumi, Mai Haruna, Syouko Mikami, Mai Tamura, Naho Asakura & Yuu Kanzaki, directed by Yakumo Matsubara.[49]
Life in Prison for Sexual Woman (無期懲役痴女刑務所) and Sexual Jail House (塀の中の懲りない痴女と僕の獄中性活 無期懲役痴女刑務所 刑期延長編) both starring Sara Ilyuin, Koyuki Morisaki, Yuu Ichinose, Shizuka Kitayama, Chika Kazeno, Aoi, Chiaki Sakai & Saki Yumemura, and both directed by KINGDOM.[50]
Held in Tokyo in December 2005 with over 1000 in attendance including more than 300 actresses.[52] For 2005, manufacturers S1 No. 1 Style, IdeaPocket, Attackers and Madonna also presented separate awards for their companies at the ceremony.[53]
For the 2006 combined awards held in Tokyo on December 19, 2006, the participating studios included not only Moodyz but also S1 No. 1 Style, IdeaPocket, Attackers, Madonna, Cross, Premium, Opera, Yellow, Hajime-Kikaku and Goro Tameike, all associated with the Hokuto Corporation and selling their products via the DMM website. A fashion show and entertainment by erotic-rock band "Campakex" were part of the ceremony.[56]
In 2007 the awards were sponsored by Moodyz and 22 other AV manufacturers who distribute their products through DMM, the online distribution arm of the Hokuto Corporation. The field for award nominations was widened to include these other companies, including actresses and directors from S1 No. 1 Style who won the majority of the awards. The ceremony was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 17, 2007.[57][58]
Hyper-Risky Mosaic Mihiro (ハイパーギリギリモザイク みひろ) starring Mihiro, and directed by Hideto Aki - S1 studio
Hyper-Risky Mosaic Akiho Yoshizawa (ハイパーギリギリモザイク 吉沢明歩) starring Akiho Yoshizawa, and directed by Hideto Aki (2nd Place) - S1 studio
AV Consent (AV了解) starring Minori Hatsune and directed by Seishiro Bando (3rd Place) - S1 studio
Active Announcer, Shock!! Real Name AV Debut - Aya Tanaka (現役アナウンサー衝撃!!実名AVデビュー 田中亜弥) starring Aya Tanaka and directed by Tatsuya Aoki (4th Place) - Moodyz studio
Newcomer - Giri Giri Mosaic (新人×ギリギリモザイク ミス湘南ギリギリモザイク 浜名優衣) starring Yui Hamana and directed by KENGO (5th Place) - S1 studio
^"AVGY'99" (in Japanese). X City. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
^"Adult Video Grandprix 2001". X City. Retrieved 2011-01-26., From the 2001 website: "Like the last year's Adult Video GRANDPRIX, it was such a tight competition." No other information seems to be still available.
^Otsubo, Kemuta (January 19, 2006). "TOHJIRO監督、まだ時代を動かさず!首位独走" (in Japanese). All About. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
^"第3回 D-1 CLIMAX Official Site" (in Japanese). D-1 Climax Official Site. Archived from the original on 2007-10-20. Retrieved 2008-09-18. 星月まゆら、長谷川ちひろ、友田真希の歴代エロシンデレラが選ぶ 【ベスト女優賞】瞳れん。