Emi Tōda was in her late 50s, recently divorced and getting by on wages from part-time jobs at supermarkets and an undertaker when she decided it was time for a change.
Now 65, she has appeared in dozens of adult movies catering to the “silver porn” market – a genre of films whose enduring popularity reflects Japan’s status as a super-ageing society.
“I wanted to save some money so I sent my details off to an employment agency,” Tōda says.
When a call came offering her parts in three pornographic films, she was adamant that she wasn’t interested. “They had my photo on file and thought I looked the part, so when the agency approached me again, I said yes.”
Her two adult daughters, with whom she lives in Tokyo, were surprisingly supportive. “They said I looked comfortable with the idea, so they were happy for me to go ahead.”
While Tōda chose to work in adult films, a 2020 survey by the cabinet office found that an alarming number of Japanese women said they had been forced into appearing in pornographic films by unscrupulous production companies. Some had signed “modelling” contracts but were later pressured into posing nude or have sex on camera.
The survey found that around a quarter of women in their teens, 20s and 30s had been solicited for jobs as models and idols. Among those who applied for jobs, 13% said they had been asked to take part in photo or video shoots of a sexual nature they had not consented to.
Two years later, Japan introduced a law allowing women who appear in adult movies to cancel their contracts within a year of the work’s release for any reason and without paying penalties. The material must then deleted and recalled, according to the law, which is designed to prevent producers from bullying or tricking people into appearing in films that would otherwise be available online in perpetuity.
Japan’s demographic timebomb means the senior porn genre has a large and growing potential fanbase. The proportion of Japanese aged 80 or over reached one in 10 for the first time last year, the government said in September ahead of the annual Respect-for-the-Aged Day. An estimated 36.2 million people are aged 65 or older, accounting for a record 29.1% of the total population. By contrast, the number of 18-year-olds is at a record low of 1.06 million, according to figures released last month.
Tōda is not alone in moving into the adult video sector later in life. Shigeo Tokuda, whose huge portfolio includes roles in Forbidden Elderly Care and The Manic Training of Lolitas, was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest porn actor in 2017, when he was 83.
The 88-year-old Yuko Ogasawara did not make her debut until she was in her early 80s, while Maori Tezuka, who specialised in “accommodating” grandmother roles, retired in 2017 at the age of 80, telling the Tokyo Reporter website that acting in pornographic films had been “lively and fun”.
Tōda prefers to appear in improbable tales of incestuous relationships spanning the generations. “I suppose seeing an old woman having sex with a much younger man in those circumstances has a certain impact, because it’s not something you would expect to happen in real life,” she says.
‘In society, it’s almost like women disappear when they reach 50’
Japan’s “senior” pornography market is one of the few areas of entertainment in which older women are the centre of attention. “In ordinary Japanese society, it’s almost like women disappear when they reach 50, but this was different. I liked that, and thought, ‘why not?’” Tōda says.
After the three initial movies sold remarkably well, Tōda was flooded with requests to appear again.
Her work forms part of a Japanese adult film market thought to be worth around ¥55bn (about £295m) a year, and which employs an estimated 10,000 performers.
Takuma Kawabe, a producer at Ruby, which specialises in productions featuring mature women, says older consumers still bought large numbers of films on DVD. “They have purchasing power, so there is definitely a market for older people,” he said.
Kawabe puts the popularity of senior porn down to an ageing consumer base and “the fact that female actors continue to pursue beauty and explore their sexuality even as they get older. Compared to people who were in, say, their 60s when I was a child – my grandparents’ generation – people who are in their 60s now have a much keener sense of beauty and desire for sex.”
While Tōda’s daughters quickly accepted her unusual career move, she has never mentioned her work to friends. It is unlikely, however, that none of them has seen her work. Over the course of her seven-year career, she has performed opposite men more than three decades her junior, while her oldest co-star – her on-screen husband – was about 70.
What does she believe lies behind the appeal of adult videos featuring mature women? “It’s not an Oedipus complex … I think men like to be pampered by older women,” says Tōda, who keeps fit and healthy by practising yoga and taking daily long walks. “That’s a big part of the appeal.
“Everyone enjoys sex, but older people are embarrassed to talk about it. There’s a belief that when women reach a certain age they lose interest in sex, but that’s not the case. I think I have helped challenge that misconception.”
Not surprisingly, she has no plans to retire. “I’m going to carry on acting as long as there are films that suit me.”