Japanese artist arrested for distributing 3D printer data of her ******

A 42 year old Japanese artist called Megumi Igarashi has been arrested on obscenity charges in Japan after distributing images of her vagina that were suitable for 3D printers. Igarashi, whose pseudonym Rokude Nashiko translates to ‘good for nothing girl’ took images of her vagina as part of a crowd funding campaign to make a kayak shaped like her genitalia.
Igarashi sent the images to 30 people who had offered to pay for her creation called the Manko Boat (Vagina Boat) and dubbed ‘a man’s dream boat’. The 42 year old artist is alleged to have broken obscenity laws, with police sources saying that she received nearly £6,000 for the images. Igarashi said that she did not believe that the images were offensive or obscene and reiterated that she had not received any money in return for the images.

Igarashi used a crowdfunding website to gain backers for her campaign to build a kayak shaped like her vagina. Backers who donated over 10,000yen (approximately £570) were promised an email link to the files that could be used to 3D print a copy of her genitals. After raising over 1 million yen (£5,730), more than doubling her goal, Igarashi distributed the data to a further 30 people; she was arrested a short time later.
Igarashi plans to sail the Manko Boat across Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
On her blog, Igarashi wrote, “I make art pieces with my vagina, which I would rather call Manko(MK).
“I thought it was just funny to decorate my vagina and make into a diorama, but I was very surprised to see how upset people get when they see my works or even hear me say the word Manko.
“Manko and vagina, have been such a taboo in Japanese society. Penis, on the other hand, has been used in illustrations and has become a part of pop culture.
“But vagina has never been so cute. Vagina has been thought to be obscene because it’s been overly hidden; although it is just a part of a woman’s body.”