This is the result of a four-year Leverhulme funded project in collaboration with the British Museum and two Japanese universities. The exhibition catalogue, with over 30 contributors, is pages in full colour. Until the last two decades shunga has been absent from academic research, virtually under a taboo, and is still under-researched. By re-focusing attention on this material, the exhibition aims to give a new perspective on Japanese society of the Edo period and the changes as a result of modernisation during the Meiji era


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Pornography or erotic art? Japanese museum aims to confront shunga taboo | Japan | The Guardian
Ero guro nansensu, or ero guro for short, is not only a literary and artistic movement, but an attitude and a philosophy. Common refrains are bondage, mutilation, and monstrosity — often at the same time. One of its most famous short stories, written by ero guro godfather Edogawa Ranpo, involves a deaf, mute, and dumb quadriplegic war veteran whose wife is duty-bound to act as his nursemaid and sex slave until she snaps and tortures him. The movement continues to thrive in Japanese art and film, as well as pockets of international pop culture like American Mary and Moebius.



Japanese erotic works and the world of Kitagawa Utamaro
While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Following the aesthetics of everyday life, Edo-period shunga varied widely in its depictions of sexuality. As a subset of ukiyo-e it was enjoyed by all social groups in the Edo period, despite being out of favour with the shogunate. Most ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers.





Fig 1. The fascination for human sexuality is universal and has been a central theme within art from the earliest times. Erotic art in Japan is as ancient as Japanese art in general. Clay dolls of naked men and women have been found in excavations dating back to the Jomon period c.

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20.07.2022 16:51:21 Sigwalt:
I don't understand what that means.
21.07.2022 2:41:50 Mikajind:
Probably is not present
23.07.2022 1:21:07 Parisch:
This seems like an excellent idea to me.