The evolution of Panchira or “Upskirt” in Japanese pop culture has been analyzed by a number of American and Japanese writers and historians alike. Many link the phenomenon to the Westernization of Japan following World War II. During the American occupation, fashions, ideas, and media that were previously unavailable were now being accessed by the local population, leading to a slight relaxing of earlier taboos. Western-style clothing including women’s underwear gained popularity in the post-war period, reinforced through numerous media outlets – magazines, newspapers, films, journals, and comics which has led to the now “Upskirt Fetish”.

At least one Japanese source traces the beginnings of Panchira to the 1940’s and 50’s Pin-Up era and the release of Marilyn Monroe’s “The Seven Year Itch” in 1955. The media frenzy surrounding Marilyn’s iconic scene with her standing over a New York City subway grating having her sexy dress being lifted up from the breeze of a passing train to revel a brief glimpse of her white panties fueled the emerging Japanese craze. According to architectural historian Shoichi Inoue, the practice of “scoring” a brief glance up young women’s skirts became extremely popular around this period. Magazines of the time have articles telling of the best places to go where panties could be viewed.

Panchira is basically an expression that Japanese women will use to warn each other that their underwear is showing. The term has with it a risqué connotation similar to “Your Slip Is Showing” in English terms. The word Panchira is a portmanteau of the word “panty” and the Japanese sound symbol “chira” meaning a brief glance or glimpse. It is different however from the now more general term “Upskirt” in that Panchira specifies the showing of underwear, the absence of which would more accurately be described as Nopan.

Coming into the mid 1960’s Panchira had spread into the mainstream comic industry, as young Manga artists like Go Nagai started creating sexual imagery in boy’s comics like Shonen Manga. It is significant to mention the emergence of adult themes in what was then being considered as a juvenile medium. The Ecchi genre of the 1970’s started to fill the void left by the decline of Osaka’s library network.

Japanese comics seriously began using sexual erotic themes in the late 1960’s with the collapse of the pay-library system as a result of cheap comic magazines like Kodanaha Publishing’s Shonen Magazine. The artists that were working for the pay-library system were already pioneering the depiction of graphic violence and were proudly declaring that they were drawing Gekiga or “Drama Pictures” and not just mere comics. In the never ending search for realism and readers it was inevitable that sex would start to be included as well.

Hot Asian DVD Idols has a large selection of Japanese Gravure Idol DVDs in its catalog with most all showing at some portion several Upskirt shots and many with full Upskirt scenes. There is one dvd available simply titled “Japanese Upskirt” that devotes the entire dvd to sexy Japanese girls riding bicycles, going up stairs and the popular climbing in and out of a car or van all showing some Extreme Panty Shots! See the Box Cover Photo above!