For male college students, “mama katsudo” is like a part-time job.

While the “papa-katsu” (daddy’s love life) has become a hot topic due in part to the case of “Downtown” actor Masanori Hamada (59), the “mama-katsu” (mommy’s love life) is hot in the Kabukicho area.

In fact, the hurdle for mama-katsu has been lowered so low that it has become a “normal” activity among male university students, as if it were a part-time job.

There are apps for mama-katsu as well as the well-known papa-katsu apps. But around me, there are more people who meet their mommies on general matching apps than on dedicated apps.

Yuki (pseudonym, 20) is a student at a famous private university in Tokyo. Yuki, who has a well-developed face and is a good talker, is popular with older women.

When I meet an older man, he usually buys me a drink. I don’t want to go out with them, but I call them my “mom” if they are pretty and sometimes give me gifts. Of course, I don’t call them ‘mama’ directly (laughs).

Apparently, the definitions of the terms “papa-katsu” and “mama-katsu” are slightly different. While “papa-katsu” involves getting paid for dates and sexual intercourse, “mama-katsu” involves no direct monetary exchange, such as buying a meal or receiving a gift.

When I talk to my college friends, there are a lot of guys who say things like, ‘I want a mommy. It may be a nuance similar to that of a pimp. It’s a lot more efficient than working hard to earn money for a part-time job and buying the things you want yourself, so I don’t have any particular resistance to it. It’s part of the art of getting by.

Nevertheless, there are also “mommy’s boys” who receive money with gusto. Koji (pseudonym), a 25-year-old freelancer who will turn 25 this year, began his mama-katsu activities because he was having trouble making ends meet due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Last summer, I started working in the sex industry for women, and I had one big customer there. I think she is almost twice my age. …… She’s not very flattering, but she’s very possessive and gets really jealous if you just get another customer. I earned about 200,000 yen a month at Onnafu, and about 100,000 yen of that was from that one fat customer.

Since about half of the sales at Onnafu were taken by the store, Koji discussed the matter with the fat customer and they decided to have a mommy-activist relationship. She paid him for his time, and they went on dates and met in hotels.

She gave me about 200,000 yen a month. But she gradually became more and more insistent. …… She said things like, ‘I’m paying you an unbelievable amount of money for a part-time job, so do it right,’ and ‘Why don’t you go out with me more? I wanted to spare her money, but I couldn’t stand the restraints and ended the relationship.

After that, she tried working as a host, but it didn’t work out, so she contacted some of the customers she had while working in the women’s club and managed to make some money as a mama’s man.

I don’t know if I would call it mama katsudo or prostitution (laughs). I get 10,000 yen for an hour’s date, and another 20,000 yen if we have sex. If it was a good-looking college student, I might be able to set the price a little higher. But, well, it’s less risky than a young girl doing daddy’s activities, so I don’t mind paying this price. It is more reasonable than a regular part-time job. I plan to live like this for a while.

The fact that the mommy life is so popular means that young men are in demand. The “◯◯ activity” is not limited to young women.

Sasaki Chihuahua
Born in Tokyo in 2000. After attending an integrated school in Tokyo from elementary school to high school, he went on to Keio University, where he has been living in Kabukicho since he was 15 years old. At university, he is studying the sociology of the downtown area, including Kabukicho. His book, ” Pien” to shakai” (“The Disease of ‘Pien’: Consumption and Approval of the SNS Generation”), is now on sale.

From theMarch24, 2023 issue of FRIDAY