CHIJO!! (or How To Make Love on A Train)
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Anyone who has lived for any length of time in Japan and knows a little bit of the language and culture knows the word chikan. The meaning of this word is a molester, but basically refers to a male who is prone to be a peeping Tom, stealing woman’s underwear from their clothes lines, or even groping woman on the trains, catching a quick feel here and there, or pressing themselves into females. You can sometimes spot chikan ogling young school girls in their sailor uniforms. A brave woman or girl being molested or felt up on a train might blurt out, “chikan!” to warn others of his presence and have him taken down by others or arrested at the next train stop. It is because of this all too common practice in Japan and the prevalence of many chikan that nowadays there are “women only” cars during rush hour.
The female counterpart of chikan is “chijo” and basically has the same meaning, only referring to a female. And yes there are some chijo in Japan, but they are rare or hardly reported to the police. I mean what hot blooded male, in his right mind, would report that he was felt up by a woman on a train other than to let all his friends know about it? I know I wouldn’t. And I didn’t report it when it happened to me.
Yes, I was groped, or molested, or whatever you want to call it on a train by a female when I was a college student in Japan. I was shocked and awed at what happened, but I didn’t feel I was molested. In fact, after I got over the initial shock, I kind of enjoyed it and “let her take advantage of me” so to speak. Or at least, after I understood just what the hell was going on, let her “have her way with me.” This is the story of that one and only experience I ever had with a chijo.
I was on my way back home from the university during rush hour and I didn’t feel like waiting 20 minutes at the platform in Shinjuku for a seat on the Odakyu Express train that originated from there. I wanted to get home so I took my place in line for the next express train. I was ninth in the double line, so I knew I would not be getting a seat.
When the train arrived and all the people emptied out the left side of the train, the doors on the right side opened and everyone near the front scrambled for a seat. People are so desperate for a seat, especially after waiting 20 minutes, that they practically knock each other out of the way! Since I was so far back in the line I couldn’t get my favorite standing spot next to the door and was stuck standing near the door in the middle of the aisle. The train was crowded, but not very. I knew it would get worse at Yoyogi Uehara and Shmo Kitazawa, the next two express stops.
As usual, the crowd at Shimo Kitazawa at this time of the evening was large and the people were packed into the train. I mean we were so packed in that I didn’t have to hold on to anything as the throng of people and the closeness of our bodies would keep me from losing my balance. That’s how close we were. It was so crowded that I hardly had any room to fold my magazine in quarters to read it.
As the train pulled out of the station all the people kind of moved backwards with the forward momentum of the train. One woman who had her back to me leaned into me with her butt and back. As the train gained speed and we were able to stand I kind of backed away from her an inch or so as I didn’t want her to think I was pressing into her or anything that may make her yell, “chikan!” and get me arrested or something.
It was about an 8-10 minute ride to the next express stop so I just got as comfortable as I could and began to read my magazine. To my astonishment the same woman in front of me moved back a little and placed her butt squarely in my crotch. I was startled and moved backward maybe a centimeter or so as there was virtually no room for me to move back much. I no sooner did that than she did it again. At first I thought it was an accident and, as there was no more room for me to move back without my pressing my butt into some guys crotch, I kind of arched my hips back a bit so my crotch wouldn’t be touching her butt. I no sooner did that than, again, she moved her butt against my crotch for a second time. Now I knew this was no accident. She was doing it on purpose.
I had heard that there were women, chijo, who sometimes did this on the train, but I had never personally experienced it myself in seven years of living there. I had heard that they did things similar to what chikan do, and I had even heard secondhand stories about how they would even grab a man’s crotch or massage his butt. Now I was experiencing it for the first time. Call me crazy, but I am a male and I was not about to let this experience with a chijo pass me by. If she was pitching, I was catching.
As she continued to press her butt into my crotch, I straightened up and, ever so lightly, proceeded to press my crotch back against her. The harder I pressed, the harder she pressed back and the harder I got! I remember thinking to myself, this is no accident. She's actually encouraging this! So I pressed against her all the more. I shyly glanced around to make sure no one was looking at us, but it was really too crowded for anyone to really notice as we so packed together.
Throughout the entire ride to the next stop we pressed against each other so much it was as if we were making love. In a way we were making love. She would move her butt ever so slowly against my crotch in a circular motion, side to side, and then up and down a little. I couldn’t believe how aroused I had become and I responded in kind. All the while she had her head down pretending to read a book she had in her hands.
I never once saw her face, but I guessed she was in her 20’s. She had long black hair and was wearing what seemed to be a business suit. I could smell the hint of a nice perfume and the nice fragrance of her long shiny black hair. The top of her head came up to about my chin and we played our little “love making” game until the train pulled into the next station; her pressing against me and me responding in kind.
As the doors opened, she quickly got off to my dismay. I tried as best I could to get a look at her, but she had her head turned completely away from me, (probably on purpose) and I never even got a sideways glance at her face as she blended in with, and disappeared into, the crowd. If she was beautiful I never knew, but I like to imagine she was as beautiful as my wildest fantasy.
As quite a few people got off at this station there was now room for me to stand in relative comfort and I took my usual place against the door for the remaining 15 minutes or so ride home. For obvious reasons I faced the door. The little tease had left me high and dry and frustrated, and I couldn’t wait to get home to “take care of my frustration!”
However, it was an experience I would never forget and I often think about it, with a smile, to this day, some 25 years later, of the chijo who had the nerve to take on a foreigner on a crowded train in Japan. (Something told me this was not her first experience.)
If chijo ever became so prevalent in Japan that they had to have separate cars for men, women, and mixed, I’m pretty sure the men only cars would be empty or filled with men looking to have an experience with other men. I know I would not ride in a men only car. Co-ed all the way for me!
When I relayed this experience to my Japanese friends, both male and female, they didn’t seem all that surprised and both had said that, although rare, it is not unheard of for chijo to do that on trains. Maybe that is why men do it. Maybe, they are making the first move hoping they are interacting with, or hoping to find, a chijo. I don’t know. In my case it never happened again with a female although I have had more than a few men press themselves up against me both before and after this unique experience. In those cases, I either moved out of the way, got off at the next stop and then back on again, or found another spot quickly in the same or another car. But I didn’t make a scene and they never persisted or I may have ended up being arrested for assaulting someone.
After that exhilarating experience I often didn’t mind taking a crowded train at rush hour and kind of looked forward to it. In fact I often made it a point to take a crowded train for a while after that experience. But, I never experienced it again. And, I would never make the first move myself and press myself against a woman on purpose for fear of being called a chikan and maybe getting arrested. It is just not my style.
Whoever you are, chijo-san, you gave a young man an experience he’ll never forget and one he’ll fondly cherish. And for that, being a hot blooded male at the time, I thank you. Heck, I would even savor it with as much delight today as I did back then. No, I don’t mind crowded trains in Japan. Not then, not today, probably never will.
