In the seminar, we shall consider questions of gender and sexuality and their representation in contemporary Japanese art. We shall inquire into questions of body and psychoanalysis, approaches to sexuality and gender construction in contemporary Japanese society (since 1945), and their visual representations – in painting, photography, sculpture and installation, performances and actions in the public sphere.  Among other issues we shall discuss the relevance of Western psychoanalytical sexual terminology to the discussion in Japan; (Alternative) psychological and sexual theories in Japan; Representations of homoerotic, trans- and post-genders; images of femininity and masculinity in manga and anime; the fetishization of young women; representations of men in women's photography, and vice versa; gendered narratives in Japanese cinema, and video art; women in wartime and under occupation – comfort women and pan-pan girls.