Posted by In 2012 the Japanese illustrator Mao Sugiyama, who described himself as asexual, had his genitals removed by a doctor, froze them and two months later cooked and served them to five paying diners at a public event in Tokyo. Cannibalism is not a crime in Japan, but Mao and three organisers were referred to prosecutors for displaying obscene objects.
Mao Sugiyama is a Japanese illustrator who in 2012 had his penis surgically removed, and not only that. He then decided to post an ad saying he would cook and serve his own genitals for 100,000 yen (about 900 euros at the time).
Mao Sugiyama
Mao is a young Japanese man who describes himself as asexual and genderless. That is why he decided to have his penis, testicles and scrotum surgically removed.
“But what does asexual mean?”
An asexual person is someone who feels no sexual attraction to any sex. It is not a choice, like abstinence, but a real sexual orientation. There are various degrees of asexuality:
- People who feel sexual but not romantic attraction
- People who feel romantic but not sexual attraction
- People who feel both
- People who feel neither.
We do not know which of these categories Mao falls into. What is certain is that he decided he no longer needed his sexual organs, so much so that he wanted them removed.
The operation, performed by a doctor, took place in spring 2012, shortly after his 22nd birthday. The genitals were tested to rule out infections and then frozen. At first Mao wanted to cook and eat them himself. Then he decided to serve them to whoever wanted to eat them, partly to cover the cost of the surgery, and posted an ad on Twitter.
The ad
I am offering my male genitals (full penis, testes, scrotum) as a meal for 100,000 yen. I will cook them at the buyer’s request, at a place of their choice
The tweet was a huge success: there were six bookings and the “meal” was split among the buyers, who paid 20,000 yen each. In the end one of them did not show up.
Mao turned the dinner into a public event called Ham Cybele – Century Banquet, at Asagaya Loft A, an event space in Tokyo’s Suginami ward. About 70 people attended: the 5 buyers and other spectators.
Before the banquet there was a piano concert and a talk, which answered some of the questions guests might have had. Mao said he was not taking female hormones and that his erect penis measured 16.1 centimetres. Then the buyers were served the human dish, while the others got beef or crocodile.
“Who were the buyers?”
We know that the people who decided to eat another person’s genitals were:
- A couple in their thirties
- A 32-year-old artist
- A 22-year-old woman
- A 29-year-old event planner
The banquet
Before the banquet Mao was tested to make sure he had no sexually transmitted disease. He then had the diners sign a waiver releasing him and the organisers from any liability if they fell ill after eating his genitals.
Mao himself, dressed as a cook, thawed, sliced and cooked his penis and testicles on a portable gas burner, under the supervision of a chef. He braised them and garnished them with mushrooms and parsley.
The buyers said the meat did not have much flavour and was rubbery.
Mao would also have liked to serve his nipples, which he had had removed, but they turned out to be unusable.
Legal consequences
Once the story went viral, many worried citizens turned to the authorities. At first it seemed there was nothing to charge him with, since cannibalism is not a crime in Japan, and Mao had even joked that, without genitals, nobody could accuse him of indecent exposure.
The case, however, was picked up by many newspapers, which found the event deplorable and even compared it to the case of Abe Sada. The mayor of Suginami, Ryo Tanaka, filed a complaint saying many residents felt discomfort and apprehension.
In September 2012 Tokyo police referred Mao and three organisers to prosecutors for displaying obscene objects, a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and fines of up to 2.5 million yen. Ironically, nobody objected to the serving of human flesh: the charge was about showing a penis in public, even if detached from the body. There is no record of the case ending in a conviction.
🦋 Emadion lives through its readers. If this story kept you up at night, buy me a coffee: it helps me bring you the next nightmare.
☕ Support Emadion on Ko-fiSources
- Japanese Man Faces Criminal Charges for Cooking, Serving His Own Genitals at Private Tokyo Banquet, SoraNews24, 19 September 2012
- Taipei Times, 19 September 2012
- Tokyo Illustrator Has Genitals Removed, Cooks and Serves Them at Public Banquet, Oddity Central
- Mao Sugiyama cooks his genitals and serves them to patrons, IBTimes
