Shinjuku Boys

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Available Summary:

"The Shinjuku Boys are three Onnabe (Japanese females who live as males) working as hosts at a Tokyo nightclub for women clients. Filmed at home and a work, they speak with searing frankness about their lives and hopes and sexuality." -DVD blurb.

Jack's Summary:

This documentary follows three Japanese people, one of them a medically-transitioning trans man, as they work in an LGBT bar. Gender identity, sexuality, and complicated relationships with gender roles are discussed.

The documentary subjects are Gaish, Kazuki, and Tatsu. All three interviewees identify as Onnabe (more widely spelled Onabe), which is a diverse term for trans men and "women who live as men", including people who might identify (in Western terms) as non-binary individuals or butches. Kazuki is in a relationship with a trans woman who is also a drag queen.

You can learn more about the term Onabe/Onnabe here. Please note that some people consider it an offensive term, so it should only be used if someone identifies with it.

Shinjuku Boys is a wonderful film that, while sad at many points, is an enriching insight into a unique trans culture. I highly recommend it. This is a part of trans/gender-diverse history which should be more widely appreciated.

One of the sweetest parts of this documentary is a scene where Tatsu, a hormonally-transitioning trans man, is getting a haircut from a barber who is very accepting. The pair laugh together and casually discuss Tatsu’s changing appearance.

"You have more facial hair," the barber remarks, "It must be the hormones. You'll get a moustache soon." Tatsu replies, "I'll look distinguished!" The barber laughs joyfully.

I also love a conversation involving Tatsu and his girlfriend, Tomoe, where the pair discuss their relationship and the emotional connection which allowed Tatsu to finally feel comfortable being naked with a woman. Tomoe talks about being pressured by her parents to marry a man who can impregnate her, but she insists, “With or without a penis, Tatsu is Tatsu. It wouldn’t make any difference,” also clarifying, "It's Tatsu I love, not the fact that he's an Onnabe."

Tatsu recalls that, when they had sex for the first time, she told him, “There’s nothing to worry about. If you take your clothes off, you just haven’t got a penis. Apart from that, you don’t look any different from a man. Don’t worry.”

Gaish, another interviewee, describes his gender by saying, “I don’t think I’m a girl, and I don’t think I’m a boy… There are all kinds of Onnabe”. So, it’s clear that not all Onnabe identify as men in the way that Tatsu does, and for some it is more complicated.

The most upsetting moments in this documentary involve Gaish, particularly a conversation where he discusses the fact than his ex-girlfriend would’ve been “an outcast” if she’d committed to living her life alongside him. “It was better for her to marry and lead a normal life, rather than be with me,” he says, “That’s what I thought. So, we split up… By law, I’m alone. If I think about that, where’s the fun in living? If I think about it, I wish I’d never been born.”

That in itself is very sad, but what I noticed during my most recent rewatch is that Gaish recalls being only 15-years-old when he was in this “relationship”, and the woman who "dated" him was his teacher. While I obviously can’t know the full context of Gaish’s life, you should proceed with caution if that conversation might distress you, because (although Gaish does not describe the dynamic in such a way) it certainly sounds like the abuse of a child by a trusted adult... to me, anyway. I am aware that such a judgement is influenced by my own cultural context (the age of consent in my country has long been 18), but there's my two cents.

Kazuki and his trans girlfriend, Kumi, discuss gender roles in their relationship, their attraction to each other, and what their sexual orientations are. Kumi emphasises that their relationship works because the pair are equals. Kazuki reveals that he used to be very sexually active, and would have casual relationships with multiple women at once, but is now exclusively committed to a largely sexless relationship with Kumi.

"A relationship isn't just about sex," Kazuki explains, "I've been taught the emotional aspects of relationships. It's got nothing to do with whether you're a man or a woman... Kumi has had her genitals off, so she has no need for sex. Almost none."

Later in the documentary, Kazuki gets a call from his mother and tries to explain his life and relationship to her. He explains that he is with someone that he could get married to, since Kumi is legally male and he is legally female, much to his mother's confusion. It feels like a wonderful gift, to be allowed this window into his life, and into the lives of the other Onnabe and their partners. I highly recommend watching this documentary.

WARNING: Unsafe chest binding.

This documentary includes the use of a chest binder which does not have shoulder straps. Binders which are designed this way can be unsafe, because of consistent pressure all around the ribcage. Learn more about chest binding here.