Samson Monthly for Men (月刊サムソン) is a monthly Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 for gay

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

 men.

Gay magazines in Japan, along with much gay culture

Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures

Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of persons who have shared experiences, background, or interests due to a common sexual or gender identity. Among the first to argue that members of sexual minorities can constitute cultural minorities as well as...

, are segregated by "type"; most are aimed at an audience with specific interests. Samson specializes in older, chubby

Chubby culture

A chub is an overweight or obese gay man who identifies as being part of the related chubby culture. Although there is some overlap between chubs and bears, chubs have their own distinct subculture and community...

 men and salarymen

Salaryman

refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...

 in suits and occasionally fundoshi

Fundoshi

is the traditional Japanese undergarment for adult males, made from a length of cotton. Before World War II, the fundoshi was the main form of underwear for Japanese adult males...

, or traditional Japanese loincloths.

Samson features photographs and drawings which, while they feature explicit depictions of sex, are censored in accordance with Japanese law to obscure genitals

Sex organ

A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined, is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in a complex organism; flowers are the reproductive organs of flowering plants, cones are the reproductive...

 and pubic hair

Pubic hair

Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area, the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region....

.

Like G-men

G-men (magazine)

is a monthly Japanese magazine for gay men. Gay magazines in Japan, along with much gay culture, are segregated by 'type' ; G-men was founded in 1994 to cater to gay men who preferred "macho fantasy", as opposed to the sleeker, yaoi-inspired styles popular in the 1980s, and focuses on "macho type" ...

, Samson has fewer general articles than other magazines such as Barazoku

Barazoku

is Japan's first male gay magazine commercially circulated.There had been a member-only magazine called Adonis and its extra issue Apollo in around 1960. It began publication in July 1971 by Daini Shobō's owner's son and editor , who is not gay....

 and more short fiction and serialized stories. Each month there are community listings, several different stories — often pornographic — and several in comic form as well, and advertisements from gay-related and gay-friendly businesses such as day spa

Day spa

A day spa is a business establishment which people visit for professionally administered personal care treatments such as massages and facials. It is similar to a beauty salon in that it is only visited for the duration of the treatment. Day spas sited in airport terminals are often called airport...

s, clubs and hotels, bars, cafes and restaurants, host bars (hustler bars), brothel

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

s, and so forth.

Readers can also place personal ads free of charge, and each month there are several pages of these, most from men in search of romantic attachments, friends or sex partners. Such ads have long been a popular way for gay men to meet each other in Japan, though text messaging and the internet are probably more popular now.

The magazine is printed in Japanese only, and currently sells for ¥1200.