Wakashu: A Sexually Appreciated Third Gender in Japan

young boys cultural fetish

There is often a bizarre contrast between the morals of our era and those of ancient times.

I used to freak out about the idea that people used to smoke in crowded rooms, but this wakashu story completely caught me off guard. Young men were seen as sexual objects for older men, women, and young women’s pleasure.

Just imagine if this was a cultural norm nowadays. Parents were scared for their children. Real sex acts happened to young boys of 11 to 25 years old. It is disgusting, I know! But, let me tell you more about this weird acceptable social norm. You will for sure appreciate where we are now as a species.

What defined a wakashu?

In Japan, precisely the Edo period (1603- 1868), there existed a third gender called a wakashu.

The definition of gender, in this context, is with whom it was socially acceptable to have sexual relationships. It was men, women, and wakashu.

Roughly wakashu translates to youth. Wakashu were young boys between the age of 11 to 25 (a rough estimation). But the age limits could extend to seven and 80. It was not the age but rather the physical aspects that defined this third gender.

What defined the wakashu was the clothing and haircut. Below is the difference between the haircut wakashu and that of a normal adult male.