Please note that in
Japan, the old
tradition was to not to pay attention to
breasts at all. Indeed, in
feudal Japan before
Western influence, the
female body, nude or no, was never seen as a
beauty, but almost entirely ignored.
Murasaki Shikubu, a writer from the
Heian period and author of
The Tale of Genji, writes, "Unforgettably horrible is the naked body. It really does not have the slightest charm."
Chinese influence brought focus to the
nude body, and especially
well-developed breasts. In the
T'ang dynasty, beauty was seen in quite
portly women, well-rounded and
plump. When Chinese
culture was imported into Japan, this preference came along; however, the
prevailing attitude was that the
female form was not
aesthetically pleasing at all. The focus for a woman's
attractiveness was on mainly
hair and
clothing choice, rather than
bust size or almost any other
physical aspect.
However, Japan has long been the
exception, rather than the
rule.