TOKYO — An artist was found not guilty of obscenity Monday for displaying figurines modeled on her vagina but received a fine for distributing digital data that could be used to make a realistic three-dimensional recreation of her genitalia.
A court in Tokyo dismissed prosecutors' charge that Megumi Igarashi, who works under the name "Rokudenashiko" — or "good-for-nothing girl" — had displayed obscene objects. It ruled her figurines decorated with fake fur and glitter could be considered "pop art."
However, the judges said the data, from a scan of her own vagina, could be used with a three-dimensional printer to create a realistic shape that could sexually arouse viewers.
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The court found Igarashi guilty for distributing digital data of indecent material and fined her 400,000 yen ($3,700). Prosecutors had sought a fine of more than $7,400.
Igarashi said she was "20 percent happy" that the court acknowledged her figurines as art, but stressed she was "completely innocent."
"I am of course indignant. I will appeal and continue to fight in court," she told a news conference.
Igarashi was arrested and briefly jailed in 2014 after building a kayak and making figurines modeled on her vagina. She sent the 3D printer data of her scanned genitalia — used to make the boat — to a number of donors who helped fund the project.
Igarashi's arrest and detention triggered a debate about women's rights and artistic freedom in Japan.
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Despite Japan's tolerance of displays of scantily dressed women in ads and in magazines, its obscenity laws prohibit public displays of genitalia.
The country's lucrative pornography industry is regulated by a section of the criminal code that dates back to 1907. Video pornography in Japan has often used digital mosaics to obscure genitalia in sex scenes to avoid obscenity charges.