Japanese Shunga

Erotic art has been produced in Asian cultures for centuries - long before it was prevalent in western society.

Some of the most sensual and artistic among erotic art is the traditional Japanese "Shunga" paintings. Shunga had its beginnings in the 7th or 8th century AD, and reached its creative peak during the 12th - 18th century. It is thought that shunga were initially inspired by illustrations in Chinese medicine manuals.

Shunga translates as "springtime pictures". Spring was a common euphemism for sex during those times. While the literal meaning of the word is significant, it is really a contraction of 'shunkyu-higi-ga', the Japanese pronunciation for Chinese sets of twelve scrolls depicting the twelve sexual acts that the crown prince had to carry out as an expression of yin yang.

These erotic pictures were produced and sold either as small folded pillow-books called enpon or as single prints. The Shunga scrolls and pillow books were popular for several reasons. Apart from the raw pleasure of viewing sexually stimulating erotic images, the shunga prints were used for the sexual education of young men and women from wealthy families. Written and illustrated with Samurai warriors and Geisha pleasure women in mind, the erotic literature dealt with ancient lessons for achieving sexual pleasure.

It was a tradition for the bride of a Daimyo (a high-standing feudal lord) or Hatamoto (Samurai) to bring a collection of Shunga prints as part of her dowry.


The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, Katsushika Hokusai c. 1820

The sexually explicit Shunga pictures usually featured fully clothed couples in various sexual positions with expressions of sexual ecstasy. Nudity was not inherently erotic in Japan – people were used to seeing the opposite sex naked in communal baths. It also served an artistic purpose; it helped the viewer identify courtesans and foreigners, and it drew attention to the parts of the body that were revealed, i.e., the genitalia.

The majority of shunga depict the sexual relations of ordinary people with the occasional Dutch or Portugese foreigner thrown in! A whole variety of possibilities are shown - men seducing women, women seducing men; men and women cheat on each other; all ages from virginal teenagers to old married couples; heterosexual, homosexual, all types of fetishes and even octopi were occasionally featured. Courtesans also form the subject of many shunga. Young kabuki actors, many of whom worked as gigolos, are oftem shown with samurai. Another common theme is a couple being watched by a third person.

The story can often be found in the text and objects in the picture. These intimate scenes contain an abundance of sexual symbolism. For example, the bonsai trees take on the suggestion of the male's stout penis while the silk robes symbolize the curves and undulation of the female vagina. Plum blossoms represent virginity and tissues symbolize impending ejaculation.

Shunga is particularly known for the exaggerated sizes in the depiction of female and male genitalia. These features were shown much larger than life because, given the miniature size of these pillow books, the details would barely be noticed otherwise.

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