Reiko Ike nude

Reiko Ike was still in her late teens when she was "discovered" by Japan's Toei Studios (stories of her "discovery" are inconsistent, ranging from being scouted in a nightclub to being spotted as a model). Along with Miki Sugimoto she was Toei's top sex star throughout the 1970s, and the focus of the "sukeban" or female girl boss phenomenon of '70s Japanese cinema. Beginning with Girl Boss Guerilla (Sukeban gerira (1972)), Ike made 12 films, almost all in the Pinky Violence/Yakuza Girl genre. Despite real-life trouble with the law, being arrested once for drugs and once for illegal gambling, she worked throughout the decade appearing in at least two of Kinji Fukasaku's "Battles Without Honor & Humanity" (Jingi naki tatakai (1973) series 1973-1979) series. Her last film before disappearing from the public eye was The Golden Dog (Ôgon no inu (1979)). The bulk of her work was for Toei in 1973, when she appeared in the films Sex & Fury (Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô (1973)), Girl Boss (Sukeban (1973)), Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom Kyôfu joshikôkô: bôkô rinchi kyôshitsu (1973)), Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (Zenka onna: koroshi-bushi (1973)) and Sex & Fury's sequel Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture (Yasagure anego den: sôkatsu rinchi (1973)). This rush of films established her as a major sex icon in Japan and created a tabloid rivalry with follow Toei contact player Miki Sugimoto, who was her co-star in several films.

The recent reissues of Sex & Fury and Female Yakuza Tale, along with the release of a Pinky Violence box set, collecting her films Terrifying Girls School, Criminal Woman, and Girl Boss Guerilla, has rekindled her cult following.

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