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, grins as he says: “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.”
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“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.”
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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 with 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 favor of a quiet, uncompetitive lifestyle.
“Mentally, men have become weaker,” said actress Yuko Shiraki. “They’re less macho, less proactive about sex.
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Celebrated director Tohjiro, who goes by only one name, agrees Japanese men are going soft.
“I’ve been in this business for 27 years and you can see the increase in herbivore males,” he said on a film set in Tokyo. “Men aren’t hungry anymore. They’ve lost their desire. Everything’s on a plate for them.
“It wasn’t like that for my generation,” growled the 58-year-old. “If we got a banana or a pineapple we went crazy with joy. These days men don’t get excited by anything — the finest cookies or cakes. The same applies to sex and attitudes toward women and relationships. They just click on the Internet for it.”
Am I imagining things or is that a wet spot on the front of his briefs?
