Here's a little something from Japan's rich and diverse past for ya'll to chew on. *taken from Wikipedia*
==Ancient Japan==
The Japanese term ''nanshoku'' (男色) is the Japanese reading of the same characters in Chinese, which literally mean "male colours." The character 色 still has the meaning of sexual pleasure in both China and Japan. This term was widely used to refer to male-male sex in ancient Japan.
According to Gary Leupp, the ancient Japanese associated ''nanshoku'' with China, a country from which borrowed ideas which became the basis for much of Japanese high culture, including their writing system (kanji, Chinese characters). The Japanese ''nanshoku'' tradition drew heavily on that of China (please see Homosexuality in China), and to a more limited extent, that of Korea.
A variety of obscure literary references to same-sex love exist in ancient sources, but many of these are so subtle as to be unreliable; another consideration is that declarations of affection for friends of the same sex were also common.
Nevertheless, references do exist, and they become more numerous in the Heian Period, roughly the 11th century. In ''Genji Monogatari'' (源氏物語, ''The Tale of Genji''), written in the early 11th century, men are frequently moved by the beauty of youths. In one scene the hero is rejected by a lady and sleeps instead with her brother:
"Genji pulled the boy down beside him . . . Genji, for his part, or so
one is informed, found the boy more attractive than his chilly
sister."''The Tale of Genji'' is a novel (often considered the world's first), but there exist several Heian diaries which contain references to homosexual acts as well. Some of these also contain references to Emperors involved in homosexual relationships and to "handsome boys retained for sexual purposes" by Emperors.
In other literary works can be found references to what Leupp has called "problems of gender identity," such as the story of a youth falling in love with a girl who is actually a cross-dressing male.
===Monastic same-sex love===
Buddhist monasteries appear to have been early centers of homosexual activity in ancient Japan. It was popularly said that Kukai, the founder of the Shingon Buddhist sect, introduced nanshoku into Japan after returning from Tang China in the 9th century. However he does not discuss this theme in any of his major works. It should also be noted that ''any'' sexual activity was expressly forbidden by the Vinaya or code of monastic discipline for Buddhist monks, and Kukai was an enthusiastic upholder of the Vinaya. At the same time, Mount Koya, the seat of Kukai's monastery, became a by-word for same-sex love.
However neither Shinto or the Japanese interpretation of Confucianism contained any prohibitions. Enough monks seem to have felt their vows of chastity did not apply to same-sex relations so that stories of affairs between monks and young acolytes, known as ''Chigo Monogatari'' were quite popular, and such affairs were lightly joked about, when the passions did not rise to the level of violence, which was not uncommon. Jesuits reported aghast on the 'sodomy' that occurred among Buddhist clergy.
===Military same-sex love===
From religious circles, same-sex love spread to the warrior class, where it was customary for a young samurai to apprentice to an older and more experienced man. The young samurai would be his lover for many years. The practice was known as shudo, the ''way of the young,'' and was held in high esteem by the warrior class.
===Middle class same-sex love===
As Japanese society became pacified, the middle classes adopted many of the practices of the warrior class, in the case of shudo giving it a more mercantile interpretation. Young kabuki actors, known as kagema, became the rage, they were celebrated in much the same way as modern media stars are today, and were much sought after by wealthy patrons, who would vie with each other to purchase their favors
The Beautiful Way of the Samurai===Art of same-sex love===
These activities were the subject of countless literary works, most of which remain to be translated. Likewise, many of the greatest artists of the period, such as Hokusai and Hiroshige, prided themselves in documenting such loves in their prints, known as ukiyo-e, ''pictures of the floating world,'' and where they had an erotic tone, shunga, or ''pictures of spring"
The Japanese Hall
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