Between 1920 and 1945, Iwata Jun’ichi carried out an unprecedented, extensive research project on the history and literature of homoeroticism in Japan. Iwata used the Tokugawa period word nanshoku (a compound of the character for “male” and the character for “sexual love”) almost exclusively in reference to his topic; however, the more recent coinage doseiai (literally “same-sex-love”), a translation of “homosexuality,” was also current.
