Oniroku Dan – The S&M Storyteller

Oniroku Dan (団 鬼六, April 16, 1931 – May 6, 2011), born Yukihiko Kuroiwa, was Japan’s most influential author of erotic SM fiction and a defining figure in Japanese pink cinema. Beginning in the early 1960s, Dan made his debut in underground SM magazines such as Kitan Club and Uramado, where his serialized stories introduced new narrative depth and psychological complexity to the genre.

In the 1970s, Dan’s vision would give rise to Nikkatsu’s legendary Roman Porno series. His novels—most famously Flower and Snake—were adapted into stylish, daring films that blended bondage with romance, humiliation with aesthetics. Alongside his work as a novelist and screenwriter, Dan also directed a number of still photo books, often shot like a cinematic storyboard: complete narratives in photos, blending erotic storytelling with high-end costume, makeup, and rope design.

He described his work as “romantic, decadent, and beautiful,” with a core focus not on violence, but the emotional and visual power of shame. His legacy endures through dozens of books, film scripts, photo narratives, and the iconography of the genre itself.

Legacy & Key Works of Oniroku Dan

  • Real Name: Yukihiko Kuroiwa

  • Profession: Novelist, Screenwriter, Director of Photographic SM Fiction

  • Debut: 1961 in Kitan Club

  • Breakthrough Novel: Flower and Snake (serialized in the early 1960s, first film adaptation in 1974)

  • Known For: Establishing the narrative and aesthetic foundations of Japanese SM literature and pink cinema

  • Visual SM Photobooks: Directed numerous high-concept photo stories—often scripted and styled like films See available copies

  • Primary Film Adaptations:

    • Flower and Snake (1974, dir. Masaru Konuma)

    • Wife to Be Sacrificed (1974)

    • Beautiful Teacher in Torture Hell (1985)

    • …and over 40 others produced between the 1970s and early 2000s

  • Signature Themes:

    • Shame and beauty

    • Ritualized humiliation

  • Most Iconic Muse: Naomi Tani – “SM Queen” of Roman Porno cinema

  • Death: May 6, 2011, age 80

Beloved 3 – Bunkyo Era Kinbaku Spring Colors Dan oniroku bolg 1

Further Reading & Sources

Want to explore or collect his work? Discover all available Oniroku Dan books here on Showa Mania Books