10 Controversial Erotic
Shunga Woodblock Prints.
Shunga, literally "Images of Spring", is the
generic term used to describe erotic prints, books, scrolls and
paintings of Japan.
As a dealer of Japanese woodblock
prints and shunga in particular I have come
accross numerous striking and evocative designs.
The
following 10 shunga designs appeal to me and are
in no typical order. These prints I saw in books, on
auctions and in private collections.
1. Underwater Rape
- Utamaro (1753 -1806)
This design is the first print from Utamaro's excellent Uta-makura
(Poem of the Pillow) -series published in 1788 and
depicts a complex scene with a awabi (abalone)
diver watching two kappa (underwater monsters)
assaulting a colleague under water. This apparent rape
scene is in reality the woman's own fantasie imagining a
violent sexual encounter. Also the tightly curled (for the
Japanese an expression of high sexual excitement)
indicates this is not a rape scene. (Illustrated in
Strangers in Paradise - R. Lane on p.14, Ill.131)
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