Gallery rejections suggested residual squeamishness about depictions of gay sexuality in Japan

After a fruitless two-year search for a venue, Shai Ohayon was on the verge of abandoning his dream of bringing the art of Tom of Finland to a Japanese audience.

Not a single gallery, museum or public space in Tokyo shared his enthusiasm for the artist, whose sensual and erotic depictions of the male body reside in the permanent collections of major museums around the world.