I'm sorry, but calling
nyotaimori a "quite common"
Japanese "ritual" or "tradition" is
really
stretching it. As I recall (sorry, can't find a source
right now, and it would in Japanese anyway)
nyotaimori was dreamed up less than 10 years ago
by a
ryokan keeper desperate to find a way to get
more customers to his lodge way out in the
boondocks.
A somewhat sensationalist
Playboy article in 1999 alerted the world to its existence and now
nyotaimori seems
to feature prominently in the fantasies of
anime
otaku everywhere...
At any rate, nyotaimori quite literally means
"female body plate".
The crotch is covered with shiso leaves and attempts
to poke at it will result in the plate's immediate departure. In all, the whole idea is really rather silly: heating raw fish
to 37 degrees and giving it a fine coat of sweat is
unlikely to improve the taste. If you want to see
a naked woman up close, you can go to helluva lot of
strip bars for $1000, not to mention get laid.
On the other hand, I doubt Japanese feminists give
a fig about this, nobody is forcing women into being
platters and much worse goes on daily in the murky depths
of Kabukicho.
Incidentally, a Japanese language web search for
nyotaimori will turn up a lot more links to
Nyotaimori The Thoroughbred Enkacore Crew, who
evidently combine enka with hardcore punk and
seem to be quite popular in the Japanese alternative
scene.
See http://www.multimania.com/isgtokyo/actua/nyotaimo/nyotaimo.htm for a French version of the Playboy article,
with the original pictures.