El Cid Gallery

Shunga

Shunga is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are usually executed in woodblock print format. Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring which is a common euphemism for sex.

Shunga were produced between the sixteenth century and the nineteenth century by ukiyo-e artists, since they sold more easily and at a higher price than their ordinary work. Shunga prints were produced and sold either as single sheets or—more frequently—in book form. Shunga was also produced in hand scroll format, called kakemono-e. This format was also popular, though more expensive as the scrolls had to be individually painted.

It is thought that shunga were initially inspired by illustrations in Chinese medicine manuals. Zhou Fang, the great T'ang Dynasty Chinese erotic painter, is thought to also have been influential. He, like many erotic artists of his time and place, tended to exaggerate the size of the genital organs, a common shunga topos. While the literal meaning of the word, 'shunga,' is significant, it is in fact a contraction of shunkyū-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.

Following the aesthetics of everyday life, Edo period shunga varied widely in its depictions of sexuality. It was enjoyed by all social groups in the Edo period, almost all ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers, and it did not detract from their prestige as artists. Thinking about shunga as a kind of medieval pornography is misleading.