Yuri (百合), also known by the wasei-eigo construction Girls Love (ガールズラブ guruzu rabu), is a Japanese jargon term for content and a genre involving love between women in manga, anime, and related Japanese media. Yuri can focus either on the sexual or the emotional aspects of the relationship, the latter sometimes being called shojo-ai by western fans.

Etymology

The word yuri (百合) literally means “lily”, and is a relatively common Japanese feminine name. In 1976, Itō Bungaku, editor of Barazoku (薔薇族, lit. rose tribe), a magazine geared primarily towards gay men, first used the term yurizoku (百合族, lit. lily tribe) in reference to female readers in the title of a column of letters called Yurizoku no heya (百合族の部屋, lit. lily tribe’s room). It is unclear whether this was the first instance of this usage of the term. Not all women whose letters appeared in this short-lived column were necessarily lesbians, but some were and gradually an association developed.

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SWAPPIN’ SPIT by Bob Kessel

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YURI HENTAI TWO GIRLS CRUSH by Bob Kessel

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YURI HENTAI ANIME GIRLS by Bob Kessel

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YURI HENTAI GIRLS RABU by Bob Kessel

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YURI HENTAI ANIME GIRLS KISSING by Bob Kessel

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YURI HENTAI FRENCH KISS by Bob Kessel

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YURI HENTAI TONGUE by Bob Kessel

Viewer reacting to “GOKKUN” by Bob Kessel

A Yahoo search for the Japanese loanword HENTAI produces over 7 million hits – more than twice that of better known loanwords such as SAMURAI, GEISHA or SUSHI.
This astonishing number is evidence of the popularity of a genre of erotic MANGA and ANIME referred to as HENTAI by western fans. HENTAI is an artistic expression of pornography in Japan. As opposed to photographic erotica, they allow full use of the imagination as well as scenes that run counter to accepted society and culture. Elements of sexual fantasy are represented in ways that would be impossible to film.
This is not without precedent in Japan. During the Edo Period, which was the heyday of ukiyo-e wood-block prints, ukiyo-e had a pornographic variant, called SHUNGA, which also had scenes that were sometimes surreal.

“BOUND FOR GLORY”

The new Bob Kessel art series, “HENTAI”, is a candy colored swirl of pastel pinks and purples.
Young Japanese uniformed school girls with dayglo colored hair and giant eyes populate this lusty world of passions fulfilled.  The Hentai series is available as limited edition fine art prints.