THE "vagina artist" fiancee of Waterboys frontman Mike Scott has been convicted of obscenity charges in Japan.
Megumi Igarashi, 44, Japan's self-proclaimed "vagina artist", escaped a prison sentence over her controversial artworks and was fined just over £2,500.
Igarashi, who is known as Rokudenashiko or 'Good for nothing girl', has created works such as a Lady Gaga model and a full-sized kayak modelled on her private parts.
Scott, 57, whose hits include The Whole of the Moon, met Igarashi for the first time in 2014, when a campaign to protest against her arrest by Tokyo police on obscenity charges caught his attention after gaining widespread international publicity.
The couple announced their engagement last month and have even invited Japanese police and prosecutors to the wedding as a thank you for bringing them together.
Yesterday(MON), Tokyo District Court found Igarashi guilty of violating the country's obscenity law by distributing the kayak display online in 2013 and 2014.
However she was found not guilty on a charge of committing obscenity by displaying it at an exhibition in Tokyo. The court found that, when on display, the kayak could be considered "pop art".
She has argued her kayak is art using a vagina as a motif, not obscenity. Following the verdict, she said: "I am of course indignant. I will appeal and continue to fight in court."
Presiding judge Mihoko Tanabe handed down a fine of 400,000 yen (£2,583). Igarashi had faced the prospect of up to two years in prison for the offence.
Edinburgh-born Scott, who formed The Waterboys in the early 1980s, has written a song supporting Miss Igarashi called ROK ROK ROKUDENASHIKO and expressed his admiration for her in the past.
He said: "Rokudenashiko is a brave artist, and her work, which celebrates the vagina in a playful way, isn't obscene at all.
“She's fighting a form of state censorship, and doing it on her own without any corporate or company backing. As a fellow artist, I support her. She's also great fun and that inspired me to write a mischievous slice of psychedelic funk in her honour.”
Announcing their upcoming nuptials, Igarashi said: "I would like to thank the police from the bottom of my heart for this relationship, because it all started when news about my arrest went viral.
"For my wedding ceremony, I would like to invite the prosecutors who indicted me, as well as the police."
Igarashi has acquired growing fame for her feminist art projects inspired by female genitalia, which she claims reflects her desire to challenge society’s vilification of women’s bodies.
READ MORE: Mike Scott on a life lived in Dublin and bringing The Waterboys to Wickerman
In a her mission to celebrate female genitals, she has created an eclectic portfolio of vulva-themed works - ranging from chandeliers and remote control cars to iPhone cases and necklaces – many of which have been confiscated by police.
Igarashi was arrested and briefly jailed in 2014 after building a kayak and making figurines modelled on her vagina, and sending 3D printer data of her scanned genitalia, used to make the boat, to a number of donors who helped fund the project.
A statement on The Waterboys website said the couple will marry when Scott's divorce to current wife Janette is finalised.
The couple hope to set up home in Dublin where Scott has lived for a number of years.
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