Although pornography in Japan has a long history and is a major business, until recently, the adult video industry did not develop a broad-based set of awards for sales or performance such as the AVN Awards in American pornography.
That has changed in recent years, and the two primary awards given at present (which are covered in separate articles) are the AV Grand Prix for retail and internet videos and the Adult Broadcasting Awards for programs broadcast on Japanese satellite TV.
This text is focused on the various earlier Japanese adult video awards given in the period 1991–2008, none of which are presently active. Some were given only infrequently and many were limited to particular studios or groups of companies.
The Tokyo Sports Film Awards (東京スポーツ映画大賞) are sponsored by the Japanese tabloid newspaper Tokyo Sports. The award ceremonies are always held in January for movies in the previous year. The first awards were given in 1991 for the 1990 cinema year. The awards were for mainstream movies but occasionally awards were also given for adult video work. The sometimes idiosyncratic selections were made by famed filmmaker and actor Takeshi Kitano. Adult awards ended with the establishment of the Takeshi Kitano Entertainment Awards in 2000. [1] [2] [3]
AV Award Best Actress
No AV Awards given 1992–1997
AV Award Best Actress
AV Award Best Actor
AV Award Best Actress
AV Award Best Actor
The Takeshi Kitano Entertainment Awards (ビートたけしのエンターテインメント賞) were begun by Tokyo Sports in 2000 for the 1999 entertainment year. They run in parallel with the Tokyo Sports Film Awards. Filmmaker, director and actor Takeshi Kitano is the head of the screening committee. Awards are given in the Performing Arts but from the start they have included categories for adult video work. The adult awards ceased after the 2006 presentations. [1] [2] [3]
Star AV Actress
Star AV Actor
Star AV ActressStar AV Actor
Star AV Actress
Star AV Actor
Best AV Title
Star AV ActressStar AV Actor
Best AV Title
Star AV Actress
Star AV Actor
Best AV Title
Star AV Actress
Star AV Actor
Best AV Title
Star AV Actress
Star AV Actor
Best AV Title
X City, the "BIGGEST ADULT SITE IN JAPAN!!", is the website of the Kuki Inc. conglomerate of adult video producers which includes Alice Japan, Media Station (Cosmos Plan), Max-A, SexiA, VIP and others. [8] For a time it sponsored a fan vote based competition called the Adult Video Grand Prix (or Grandprix) which gave awards in various categories. Voting was done at the official website usually in November and early December for works and actresses nominated for that year. Results were announced in late December. Most of the nominees and awards for actresses and videos are from companies associated with Kuki.
Determined by fan e-mail votes from the official website. Votes were for New Faces, Big Breasts, Most Beautiful and Wildest. The overall Grand Prix winner was chosen from a combination these votes. [11] The voting period was from November 12 to December 12, 1999 and the winners were announced December 24, 1999. [12]
Grand Prix Winner
Best Newcomer Award
Best Breasts Award
Most Beautiful Actress Award
Best Nasty Actress Award
No information on results [13]
Voting was done by making selections by e-mail from the official site. Voting ended December 27, 2001: [14]
Best Actress Award
Also nominated for Best Actress were Momo Kanda and Koharu Tohno [15]
Best New Actress Award
Also nominated for Best New Actress were Asuka Ozora and Ayumi Tahara [15]
Best Video Title Award
Best Breasts Award
Best Lolita Award
Prettiest Face Award
Best Mature Actress Award
Results of the voting: [16]
Best Actress Award
Best New Actress Award
Best Video Title Award
Best Breasts Award
Best Lolita Award
Prettiest Face Award
Nastiest Actress Award
Results of the voting: [17]
Best Actress Award
Also nominated for Best Actress were Naho Ozawa, Nao Oikawa, Ran Asakawa, Rei Ito, Sakurako Tokiwa, Izumi Hasegawa and Mai Haruna [18]
Best New Actress Award
Also nominated for Best New Actress were Akiho Yoshizawa, Miyuki Uehara, Hijiri Kayama, Mirano Matsushita, Yuki Maioka, Yuna Mizumoto and Yuria Yoshinaga [18]
Best Video Title Award
Best Breasts Award
Prettiest Face Award
Results of the voting: [19]
Best Actress Award
Best New Actress Award
Best Video Title Award
Best Body Award
The Soft On Demand (SOD) porn conglomerate had its own Grand Prix awards before it sponsored the AV Open. The first awards were presented in 2002 and the 5th and last event took place in Tokyo in 2006. As usual with studio awards, prizes were given to actresses and staff from the SOD group of companies.
Best Video [20]
The 2003 SOD Award (SOD大賞) ceremony was held on November 26, 2003, at the Century Hyatt hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo, a 40 million yen party with 500 attendees mostly devoted to professional wrestling with AV awards and actresses as a side attraction. Actresses from the American porn company Vivid Entertainment were also part of the scene. [21] [22] Hostess for the awards ceremony was future AV superstar Nana Natsume making her first appearance for SOD. [23]
Best Actress Award
No information
The 4th SOD Award (2005年 第4回 SOD大賞) ceremony was held December 14, 2005 at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo. In addition to the awards, the inauguration of the AV Open competition in association with Tokyo Sports was announced and representatives from the various studios involved in the AV Open contest were present. [24] [25]
SOD Award (for contributions to company sales and image)
Best Actress Award
Actress Awards for Excellence
Best Director Award
Director Award for Excellence
Best New Director Award
Manufacturer's Excellence Award
Writer's Award
Actor's Award
Supporting Actress Award
Cinematographer Award
Still Photographer Award
Sound Award
Best Rental Video Award
The 5th and last SOD Award (2006年第5回SOD大賞) ceremony was held in Tokyo on December 14, 2006. The SOD awards were subsequently replaced by the broader based AV Open competition. [26] [27]
SOD Award (for contributions to company sales and image)
Best Actress Award (based on sales)
Actress Awards for Excellence
Best New Actress Award (based on sales)
Best Director Award (based on sales)
Director Awards for Excellence
Best New Director Award
Manufacturer's Excellence Award
New Manufacturer Award
At a ceremony held in Tokyo on December 15, 2004, the KMP studio announced the winners of their in-house Million Academy Award Prize (ミリオンアカデミー大賞受賞) contest which was determined by fan voting: [28]
Academy Award Prize
Awards for excellence
The Hirorin awards (ヒロリン大賞2006) were determined by a combination of viewer votes and total sales of videos. This award from the "AV Actress Hirorin Fan Blog" website seems to have been given only for 2006. It should be distinguished from the 2006 AV Open contest awards and from the later AV Grand Prix competition. [29] [30]
AV Grand Prix Winner
Best Actress Winner
Best Actress Awards for Excellence
Best New Actress Winner
Best New Actress Awards for Excellence
Best Video Award
Special Award
The D-1 Climax (D-1 クライマックス) awards were a competition among directors. The AV studio Dogma invited a number of directors to produce a video under the Dogma label. The winner was determined by sales of the video over a three-month period and judges' votes. [31]
Nine directors were chosen for the first competition. Videos were released on September 15, 2005, as Dogma D1-001 through D1-009. Dogma also released a DVD with scenes from the videos and a bonus video of the D-1 Climax ceremonies. [31] [32] [33]
Director's Grand Prix Award
For the second contest, 11 directors competed with videos released by Dogma on September 15, 2006, as a series of DVDs numbered D1-201 through D1-211. Once again, a video was released with selected scenes plus the D-1 Climax ceremony. The award ceremonies which took place on December 20, 2006, also featured an open audition for 42 prospective actresses and the "Erotic Cinderella Award" (エロシンデレラ) for Best Actress. [31] [32] [34]
Director's Grand Prix Award
Erotic Cinderella Award for Best Actress
Kurumi Morishita Award
In the third and last competition, 14 directors produced videos, released by Dogma on September 15, 2007, as a series of DVDs numbered D1-301 through D1-314. There was also an open audition for 60 aspiring porn actresses as part of the award ceremonies held on December 29, 2007. [32] [35] [36]
Director's Grand Prix Award
The Moodyz Awards began in 2001 as part of a year-end bonenkai (忘年会) party held for Moodyz actresses and staff to honor achievements during the year. Awards were given for actresses, directors, and video titles with the most prestigious prize being the Moodyz Award.
The party and award ceremony were held at the 'NEPUSHISU" Restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo on December 27, 2001, with 217 participants. [37] The following awards were given: [38]
Moodyz Award
Best Actress Award
Best Director Award
Special Actress Awards
Special Award Title
The party and awards ceremony were held in Ebisu, Tokyo on December 18, 2002, with 400 people in attendance. [40] Awards were given in the following categories: [38]
Moodyz Award
Best Actress Award
Best Director Award
Best Newcomer Award
Special Actress Award
Special Award Title
Held in Ebisu, Tokyo on December 17, 2003, with more than 700 people participating including actresses and actors, managers, friends, directors and staff, and the press. [44] Awards presented were: [38]
Moodyz Award
Best Actress Award
Best Director Award
Best Newcomer Award
Special Actress Award
Special Award Title
Best Sales Award
The ceremony took place on December 22, 2004, at a hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo with about 120 AV actresses present. Also represented at the party in addition to Moodyz were AV studios Attackers, Madonna and IdeaPocket. [45] [46] The 2004 awards for the Moodyz company were: [47]
Moodyz Award
Best Actress Award
Actress Awards
Best Director Award
Director Awards
Best Newcomer Award
Newcomer Awards
Special Awards Titles
Special Actress Awards
Special Director Awards
Some of the other studios associated with the Hokuto Corporation also presented awards for their staff at the 2004 ceremony. [46]
S1 No. 1 Style Awards
Attackers Awards
Held in Tokyo in December 2005 with over 1000 in attendance including more than 300 actresses. [52] For 2005, manufacturers S1 No. 1 Style, IdeaPocket, Attackers and Madonna also presented separate awards for their companies at the ceremony. [53]
Moodyz Award
Best Actress Award
Best Director Award
Best Newcomer Award
Special Actress Awards
Special Award Titles
Best Actress Award
Best Newcomer Award
S1 Award
Special Award
Best Director Award
Best Actress Award
IdeaPocket Award
Best Director Award
Best Actress Award
Attackers Award
Best Actress Award
Madonna Award
For the 2006 combined awards held in Tokyo on December 19, 2006, the participating studios included not only Moodyz but also S1 No. 1 Style, IdeaPocket, Attackers, Madonna, Cross, Premium, Opera, Yellow, Hajime-Kikaku and Goro Tameike, all associated with the Hokuto Corporation and selling their products via the DMM website. A fashion show and entertainment by erotic-rock band "Campakex" were part of the ceremony. [56]
Best Actress Award
Best Title Award
Best Director Award
In 2007 the awards were sponsored by Moodyz and 22 other AV manufacturers who distribute their products through DMM, the online distribution arm of the Hokuto Corporation. The field for award nominations was widened to include these other companies, including actresses and directors from S1 No. 1 Style who won the majority of the awards. The ceremony was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 17, 2007. [57] [58]
Best Actress Award
Best Title Award
Best Director Award
The 2008 Moodyz Awards were even more broad-based than the 2007 Vegas Night with 37 AV producers participating. [59]
Best Actress Award
Best Title
Best Director Award
星月まゆら、長谷川ちひろ、友田真希の歴代エロシンデレラが選ぶ 【ベスト女優賞】瞳れん。
Kazuhiko Matsumoto is a prominent Japanese adult video (AV) director, credited with inventing the bukkake genre of Japanese pornography.
Moodyz, also known as Mr. President, is one of Japan's largest adult video (AV) producers, featuring an extensive catalog of video titles.
Yua Aida is a former Japanese model and AV idol.
Rin Aoki is a Japanese gravure model, AV idol and erotic dancer. She began as a gravure idol and later moved to hardcore video work where she became an award-winning AV idol.
AV Open is a major awards contest for the Japanese adult video industry. It went from a limited sales contest in 2006 to become, via its successor the AV GrandPrix, the major Japanese AV award with nearly 100 participating companies competing for the 2009 awards. The AV GrandPrix awards were not extended beyond 2009 but after a hiatus of seven years, the AV Open award competition was resurrected in 2014. The 2014 AV Open contest ran from 2014 until 2018, when it was once again not extended. No explanation was given for this decision.
Honoka is a Japanese TV personality, actress, writer and former adult video (AV) performer who retired from the AV industry in 2008.
S1 No. 1 Style or just S1 (エスワン) is a Japanese producer of adult videos (AV) which has its offices in Tokyo's Meguro Ward. The company is best known for retailing its adult videos under the Fanza brand, an affiliate of DMM.
Akiho Yoshizawa, often known simply as Acky (あっきー), is a Japanese actress and former adult video (AV) actress, who also appeared in pink film and mainstream (non-erotic) film, as well as television. With a career spanning over more than 15 years and over 1,000 adult film appearances, Yoshizawa was widely renowned as one of the most famous and recognizable faces in Japanese adult entertainment, with an appeal that managed to cross over into mainstream entertainment.
Hideto Aki is a Japanese adult video (AV) director who has directed more than 300 movies since 1998.
Attackers is a Japanese adult video (AV) production company located in Tokyo, Japan.
Mariko Kawana began the most notable phase of her life as a Japanese model and actress who has appeared in softcore pink film and V-Cinema, and who has also been a hardcore adult video (AV) performer and director. She was one of the earliest AV actresses in the "mature woman" or "madame" (jukujo) category of performers. She is now retired as an actress and has returned to her pre-acting career as a writer.
Goro Tameike is a Japanese adult video (AV) director who has directed more than 450 videos. He was one of the first exponents of the "mature woman" genre in AV.
IdeaPocket is a Japanese company located in Tokyo which is involved in the business of planning and producing adult videos. To date, the company has produced over 3,500 titles starring some of the most prominent adult video actresses.
Waap Entertainment is a Japanese adult video production company with headquarters in the Shinjuku Building, Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Alala Kurosawa, also known as Arara Kurosawa, is a Japanese adult video (AV) director who has specialized in producing videos in the Japanese porn genre of bukkake. He has been called the best in the industry at "semen" movies and by late 2011 had directed more than 300 adult videos.
[Jo]Style is a Japanese adult video (AV) director who has supervised more than 300 productions during his career.
K*West or K*WEST is a Japanese adult video (AV) director who had directed more than 150 DVD productions as of September 2011.
DAS is a Japanese adult video (AV) production company located in Tokyo, Japan.
Hot Entertainment is a Japanese adult video (AV) production company which has its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan and specializes in works featuring amateur actresses in "reality" videos.
Tadanori Usami is a Japanese adult video (AV) director. He is credited with directing more than 450 videos in a career spanning over twenty years.