Art History : A brief history of Japanese art
Shunga, an Introduction to a Japanese Erotic Mystery Shunga, literally “Images of Spring”, is the generic term used to describe erotic prints, books, scrolls and paintings of Japan. History The beginning of the shunga genre is connected with the origins of Ukiyo-e (‘Images of the floating world’) and starts with the work of Hishikawa Moronobu and his school between 1660-1670. Originally shunga were published as erotic manuals (guides) for the most popular courtesans in houses of pleasure. But with the growth of prosperity, the expansion of the brothels in Edo (today’s Tokyo) and the alterations in the Japanese caste system with the merchants getting wealthier, embracing a hedonistic lifestyle, shunga gained a more diverting purpose.
Shops in the pleasure quarters of Edo, called the Yoshiwara, sold shunga prints and books as souvenir to the visitors of the brothels. Shunga were also offered as dowry to newly-weds as an educational guide. Around 1765 with the transition to multi-colour woodblock printing, before woodblock prints were colored either by hand or printed with a limited palette, the shunga genre entered new ground (both aesthetically and commercially).This revival lasted another century ending at the start of the Meiji period (1868-1912) when Japan opened its economic and cultural gates to the West. During the Meiji period only a few artists specialized in designing shunga prints which were mainly influenced by Western art. Subjects and Themes At first glance a shunga image can have a confrontational effect on the (Western) viewer because of the undisguised way the subject matter has been portrayed or the exaggerated depiction of genitalia.
Once accustomed he can experience the striking compositions and use of colour, the humour and the daring handling of themes. The shunga genre accommodates a wide range of themes. Besides the rendering of conventional heterosexual love-making mostly between married couples or courtesans and their clients it also dealt with the homosexual and lesbian acts of love, scenes involving hermaphrodites, mythical figures, ghosts, Westerners, bestiality and even necrophelia.
