was established on April 5, 1986, as the adult video (AV) label for

Japan Home Video (JHV) is a Japanese media corporation which produces and distributes film and video products and is also involved in TV programming and game software. It uses the label for its adult video production. Company history and finances JHV was estab ...

(JHV).

Company information

The early AVs produced by JHV went under the Penguin (ぺんぎん) label, the first title being the 30-minute-long softcore ''Asobinasareya, Tadakurue'' (遊びなされや、ただ狂へ) starring Hidemi Nakajima (中島秀美) released May 21, 1984, with production code KA-1001. The same production code series was used for releases under the Alice Japan label which began with ''Sexy Violence'' (セクシーバイオレンス), KA-1050, starring Mariko Kajikawa. In the years following, the company continued using the "KA" series for their products released on VHS tape. Iconic

AV Idol An or is a type of pornographic film actress in Japan. It is a sub-category of the idol culture in Japanese pop entertainment. AV idols work in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performances ...

Hitomi Kobayashi is an important early Japanese AV idol. One of the founding figures of the Japanese adult video, she has been called indispensable to any discussion of the AV. ''Mainichi Shimbun'' calls her "one of the icons of Japanese adult cinema history." ...

was one of the company's first stars appearing in Alice Japan videos as early as 1986. Among other early AV actresses who made their debut with Alice Japan were Riria Yoshikawa in 1990 and Asami Jō in 1995. Early directors for the company include

Rokurō Mochizuki is a Japanese film director who has worked in pink film, adult videos and mainstream cinema. He won the award for Best Director at the 19th Yokohama Film Festival for ''Onibi'' and '' A Yakuza in Love''. Life and career Early career - Pink film ...

, who started in

pink film in its broadest sense includes almost any Japanese theatrical film that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. The Western equi ...

, Kunihiro Hasegawa and Yuji Sakamoto, who were directing for Alice Japan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Alice Japan has had a long association dating back to at least 1997 with the

Kuki Inc. is a Japanese adult video (AV) company which has its headquarters in Ebisu Minami in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo. The company is involved in the production and distribution of videos, satellite and cable TV, and a large internet site, X CITY. C ...

group of AV companies which includes Kuki, Max-A, Atlas21, Big Morkal, Media Station (Cosmos Plan) and

Sexia The is a Japanese adult video (AV) company best known for videos produced under its label. Company information Try-Heart began releasing videos under the Pink Drug label at least as early as December 1995, and with production codes of the type ...

. Like several of the other companies in this group, Alice Japan works mostly with new actresses especially those making their debut in AV. All these companies use the Kuki-owned X CITY website to advertise and distribute streaming video versions of their products. Like Kuki, h.m.p., Max-A and many of the older "pro" AV studios in Japan, Alice Japan has been a member of the ethics group Nihon Ethics of Video Association (NEVA) which regulates content and the censorship mosaic required in Japanese porn videos. Because of this, most of the videos produced by Alice Japan have used a large, blocky analog mosaic as opposed to the newer thinner digital mosaics now in common use among the "indie" studios such as the

Soft On Demand , often known as SOD, is a Japanese adult video group of companies which has its headquarters in the Nakano ward of Tokyo. SOD was founded in December 1995 by Ganari Takahashi, who retired from the company in March 2005 and is currently worki ...

(SOD) group. In 2007, the company began re-releasing several of its old videos using a new thinner mosaic standard under the "Alice Pink" label. The Alice Japan Official Website contains a large searchable database of Alice Japan videos dating back to 1984 as well as a list of actresses and a section for Actress Blogs.

Labels

In addition to the standard Alice Japan label, the following have also been used for adult videos:

Directors

AV directors who have worked frequently for Alice Japan include: * Some Chan * Kazutoshi Goto (後藤和俊) * Minami Haou (南★波王) * Kunihiro Hasegawa * Takumi Iwasaki (岩崎たくみ) * Shigeo Katsuyama (勝山茂雄) * Kazuhito Kuramoto (倉本和比人) *

* Kei Morikawa * Kyosuke Murayama (村山恭助) * Tadanori Usami * Pusuke Yamada (山田風゜助)

Actresses

Some of the most famous

s in Japanese porn have performed for Alice Japan including: *

Kyōko Aizome is a Japanese erotic actress, singer, writer, and AV and film director. She has been called "the first hard-core porn actress in Japan". Life and career Early life Kyōko Aizome was born in Noda Chiba Prefecture. She grew up in a troubled ho ...

Hotaru Akane also known as and was a Japanese actress, HIV/AIDS activist, and AV idol. She was active in many media formats in Japan including mainstream theatrical film, and was a popular blogger. Her adeptness at female ejaculation in adult videos (AV) e ...

* Riko Akina * Minori Aoi * Sora Aoi * Tsukasa Aoi *

Yuma Asami , is a Japanese actress, singer, and a former adult video (AV) actress and model. Starring in more than 600 adult films between 2005 and 2013, Asami was widely recognized as one of Japan's most famous and acclaimed adult film actresses with her ...

* Ami Ayukawa * Mari Ayukawa * Yumika Hayashi * Ai Iijima * Ayame Ikehata * Asami Jō *

Bunko Kanazawa is a Japanese adult film actress, who was mostly active in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She has been called "one of the biggest AV idols in Japan". Life and career Debut—Cosmos Plan Bunko Kanazawa was born April 4, 1979 in Kanagawa prefe ...

* Mariko Kawana *

Kyōko Kazama is a Japanese AV idol and ''pink film'' actress. She has appeared in award-winning ''pink films'', and was herself given a "Best Supporting Actress" award in two successive years for her work in this genre in 2006 and 2007. Life and career Ky� ...

* Aino Kishi *

* Yuri Komuro * Hitomi Kudo *

Hiromi Matsuura is a Japanese singer-songwriter. Music career Matsuura made her musical debut in September 2005 under the stage name Hiromi Matsuura with the single "Cruel", produced by Joplin Tokuno of Kome Kome Club. Her first release charted at number 3 o ...

Mihiro , real name , is a Japanese actress, singer, fiction writer, TV entertainer (notices artist) and former adult video (AV) actress. Life and career Mihiro was born in Niigata prefecture on May 19, 1982. She began a career as a softcore nude model ...

* Ryōko Mitake * Aika Miura * Alice Miyuki * Rena Murakami * Nana Nanaumi * Mako Oda * Anna Ohura * Nao Oikawa *

Natsuki Ozawa ; born April 19, 1972) is a Japanese singer, actress and AV actress who has appeared in mainstream films and adult videos. Life and career As a teenager, Ozawa had roles in two 1987 films, the youth action comedy ''Be-Bop High School: Koko yotaro ...

* Nao Saejima * Rui Sakuragi * Ai Sayama * Kaho Shibuya * Riko Tachibana * Yui Tatsumi * Maki Tomoda * Aki Tomosaki * Rico Yamaguchi *

Akiho Yoshizawa , often known simply as Acky (あっきー), is a Japanese former adult video (AV) actress, who also appeared in pink film and mainstream (non-erotic) film, as well as television. With a career spanning over more than 15 years and over 1,000 adu ...

* Makoto Yuki *

Maria Yumeno is a Japanese pink film, adult video (AV) actress and gravure model. In 2003, she was called one of Japan's highest-earning AV performers and "probably its most famous." Many of her movies emphasized her large bust and thin body. Life and career ...

Series

A selected list of series from the Alice Japan label: * Dangerous Looked-Up Room (危ない密室) * Flash Paradise (フラッシュパラダイス) * Flashback (フラッシュバック) * Give Up Human Being AKA Inhumanity (人間廃業) * Mejiri AKA Female Ass (女尻) * Obscene Model (猥褻モデル) * The Contrary Soap Heaven / Reverse Soap Heaven (逆ソープ天国)

References

External links

* * {{Japanese Erotic Cinema Japanese pornographic film studios Mass media companies established in 1986 Mass media companies based in Tokyo Nakano, Tokyo Japanese companies established in 1986