Why is Japan a highly developed society, but yet a country that ranked so low in gender equality rankings? Why is it such a country that has a mature industry of pornography and prostitution, a sign of allowance of the discussion of sex and, oftentimes, deviant sexualities, but yet exhibits such harsh attitudes towards queerness and LGBTQ community. The discourse of gender and sexuality seems to stem from a largely westernized context. However, Japan has always been a fascinating battlefield and playground for contentious discussions, expressions, and culture of gender and sexuality. In this course, we would take a tour of different topics surrounding gender and sexuality in Japan and discuss some of the important elements that arise in these phenomena such as: “agency”, “queerness”, “oppression”.