After 1722 most artists refrained from signing shunga works. However, between 1761 and 1786 the implementation of printing regulations became more relaxed, and many artists took to concealing their name as a feature of the picture (such as calligraphy on a fan held by a courtesan) or allusions in the work itself (such as Utamaro's empon entitled Utamakura). [1] Content [ edit ] When Japan opened towards the West during the Meiji Restoration (in the late 1860s) Westerners were often given shunga as presents. While the Japanese considered shunga treasured gifts, many Westerners rejected them. They were puritans of the Victorian age, after all. From the 1970’s on, shunga could be published again in Japanese books but the genitals had to be covered by fog spots – just as in pink movies. Japanese sex museums ( hihokan) displayed some original shunga for adults only. Even there, fog spots were in place. The generous vocabulary of terms relating to male-male sex in early modern Japanese reflects a society at ease with the phenomenon. Anyone perusing the abundant primary and secondary sources will encounter numerous allusions to the “male eros” (nanshoku); “the way of youths” (wakashūdō, often abbreviated as jakudō or shudō); the “way of men” ( nandō); “the beautiful way” ( bidō); and the “secret way” ( hidō). All these are euphemisms for male-male sex, conforming to certain specific conventions’.

Works depicting courtesans have since been criticised for painting an idealised picture of life in the pleasure quarters. It has been argued that they masked the situation of virtual slavery under which sex workers lived. [9] However, Utamaro is just one example of an artist who was sensitive to the inner life of the courtesan, for example showing them wistfully dreaming of escape from Yoshiwara through marriage. [8] a b c d e f Screech, Timon (1999). Sex and the Floating World. London: Reaktion Books. pp.13–35. ISBN 1-86189-030-3. Within the Edo Period, there were times when shunga were tolerated and times when they were officially prohibited. In the former case, the shunga were published with full credits to artists, wood carvers, and printers. In the latter, shunga were either sold as exclusive private prints or rented out by book lenders flouting the law.Travel and landscapes, studies of the daily work and pleasures of the Edo (present-day Tokyo) population as well as the farmers, fishermen, merchants, soldiers, samurai, and daimyo in the provinces were realistically and often humorously captured by skilled artists such as Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Utamaro Kitagawa (1753-1806), Harunobu Suzuki (1725-1770) and Eishi Chobunsai (1756-1829). Shunga were both sold as rather expensive scrolls as well as in the form of books. The latter typically allowed for a greater variety of genres. Though long scrolls could certainly tell exciting stories, it was books that were able to reprint classic novels like, say, the Tale of Genji, but illustrate them with erotic images.

Lesser known is that the ukiyo-e concept of covering almost all aspects of contemporary life included both the real and the artistically imagined sex life of Edo Japan. Those pictures are known under the name shunga (which translates to “Spring Pictures”).Annika Aitken is Curator, Art Museums, at the University of Melbourne, where she is also undertaking a PhD in Art History. From 2018 to 2021 she was Assistant Curator, Asian Art, at the National Gallery of Victoria a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Kielletyt kuvat: Vanhaa eroottista taidetta Japanista / Förbjudna bilder: Gammal erotisk konst från Japan / Forbidden Images: Erotic art from Japan's Edo period (in Finnish, Swedish, and English). Helsinki, Finland: Helsinki City Art Museum. 2002. pp.23–28. ISBN 951-8965-53-6.