Flowers and Serpents (1974) is a Japanese pink film starring Naomi Tani, directed by Masaru Konuma and produced by Nikkatsu.

Based on a novel by Oniroku Dan (born 1931), Japan's best-known author of sadomasochistic (S&M) fiction, Flower and Snake was the first of Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films to deal with an S&M theme.

Together with the later Wife to Be Sacrificed (also directed by Konuma in 1974, and starring the same female and male leads) this film is credited with starting the S&M Roman Porno series which helped save Nikkatsu from financial collapse during the 1970s.

[1] Makoto Katagiri (Yasunori Ishizu) is a 30-year-old man living with his mother Miyo (Hiroko Fuji), who operates a pornographic photography business specializing in sadomasochistic content out of her combined home and adult toy store.

However, his new wife Shizuko (Naomi Tani) refuses to let Senzô tie her up or even watch her bathe; instead he vents his frustrations and needs on their housemaid Haru (Hijiri Abe), forcing her to indulge in his kinks.

Makoto reports his progress to Senzô regularly, providing tapes and even physical evidence of his wife's continued "training".

[5] Tani finally agreed to join the studio on the condition that her first film be based on the Oniroku Dan S&M novel Flower and Snake.

[6] Tani had already starred in a pink film version of Dan's novel entitled Flower and Snake: Rearing the Flesh (花と蛇より　肉の飼育), released by Yamabe Pro.

[7][8] Nikkatsu agreed to Tani's conditions, but there remained the problem of convincing Oniroku Dan to allow the studio to film his novel.

After lengthy, inconclusive negotiations, Dan invited director Masaru Konuma and scriptwriter Yozo Tanaka to his home for "further discussions."

"[9] Director Konuma and script-writer Tanaka both agreed that Dan's novel was unfilmable, and made significant changes to the story.

Izumi Evers notes that "Nikkatsu's somewhat innocent approach inadvertently adds comedy," but sums up her review of Flower and Snake with, "The heroine, who was masochistically trained by men, was actually controlling them the whole time.

[11] Media Blasters has announced an all-region DVD release of Flower and Snake on its Tokyo Shock label, scheduled for August 28, 2007.