Hard job, but somebody’s got to do it, says Japanese porn king
FOR a man carrying a nation’s libido on his shoulders, Japanese porn king Shimiken looks as fresh as a daisy.
The 35-year-old cult hero, described by one director as the “Cristiano Ronaldo of sex” and famed for his Herculean powers between the sheets, grinned as he said: “It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it.”
Shimiken – real name Ken Shimizu – has slept with more than 8 000 women for his 7 500 movies, and recently caused a stir by begging for reinforcements, tweeting that there were more Bengali tigers alive than male porn actors in Japan.
“We’re an endangered species,” he said in an interview. “There are about 70 male actors to 10 000 women.”
Shimiken’s call to arms was retweeted thousands of times by fans worried Japan’s $20-billion (R220-billion) “adult video” (AV) industry could be under threat.
“We’re getting rarer and rarer, like pandas,” said the celebrity lothario, who drives a vintage DeLorean sports car – the time machine in – and carries phallus-shaped business cards.
“It is boring for viewers to watch the same actors all the time. That’s the biggest worry.”
Looking a little like porn’s answer to British punk rocker Johnny Rotten with his spiky orange hair, Shimiken insisted he had the staying power to keep on going, despite making an eye-popping two to three films in an average day.
“Usually I sleep with two or three girls a day, so I have sex for about two hours every day,” he chirped. “It’s my dream job – I’ve been doing this for 17 years and I never get bored of it.
“It beats working in an office,” added the part-time bodybuilder, peeling off a T-shirt bearing the legend “Sex Instructor” to show off his biceps. “I’ll do this until I’m 100.”
He may have to, if the decline in male actors continues.
Fitness fanatic Shimiken follows a strict diet, and the contents of his sports bag reveal protein bars, packets of chicken tenderloin and boiled eggs, as well as Japanese reindeer supplements and a drink with snake extract to boost performance. But no little blue pills.
“I don’t take Viagra,” said the workaholic actor, who uses luxury face creams to keep his essential kit in tip-top condition, and boasts he has only once sustained an injury in the area – when an actress accidentally damaged him with a stiletto. “I don’t need it. Not yet.”
Such is Shimiken’s legendary prowess that actresses swoon at the mention of his name, but few express surprise that Japan struggles to produce more male actors.
“He’s a stud,” purred busty AV queen Anri Okita. “He’s a marvel of nature, a genius. Male actors are a dying breed. It’s a physiological matter. Only Superman can do what they do, to have that technique and stamina. Japan can be proud of them.”
Shimiken puts the dearth of talent down to the fear of being found out or, worse still, ridiculed.
“With social media now, there’s the danger of being rumbled quickly,” he said, confessing that his mother once walked in on a scene he was shooting. “Also they don’t want to be compared to other actors.”
Many industry insiders blame the conundrum on a growing social trend known as “herbivore men”: those who shun sex and traditional masculine values in favour of a quiet, uncompetitive lifestyle.