In the seminar, we shall consider questions of body images, the approach to sexuality and gender constructions in Japanese society and their visual representations – before and after the encounter with Western values. Among other topics, we shall discuss issues o psychoanalysis, multiplicity and temporality of genders, views of sexuality along Japanese history – from Heian period to our times, gender performance and performativity – in theatre performance art, and broader social context, homoeroticism, prostitution, and representations of sexuality and gender in print, painting, cinema, manga, anime, and contemporary art.