A minute after walking into the exhibition it became apparent that I was the only person in the room who didn’t know what Shunga was.
It was around the 30-second mark that I realised I was looking at an early form of pornography. At about 45 seconds I realised the talk dark man standing next to me was also looking at porn. In fact we were enjoying it together…along with about 100 or so other members of the public!
Strip away the cultural and social connotations, and influences on modern Japanese art; and it’s erotica.
Simple as.
Source (except tag): British Museum Collections
Now don’t go thinking I’m a) a prude b) immature c) vulgar for categorising it as ‘porn’; it’s just I walked in quite naively expecting a mere hint of sexual tension at best. I can only imagine it’s the BM’s attempt to engage with a younger audience.
Anyway, back to the exhibition. For those not in the ‘know’ (like me) Shunga is explicit and beautifully detailed erotic paintings, prints and books, inspired by great artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec; Beardsley, Rodin and Picasso. The Shunga on display was produced from around 1600 to 1900 and banned in Japan for much of the 20th century.
Shunga appealed to all classes in Japan for almost 300 years, and to men and women alike. Frequently tender and humorous, they celebrate sexual pleasure in all its forms in brilliantly coloured paintings and prints, culminating with beautiful and explicit works by iconic artists Utamaro, Hokusai and Kunisada.
I don’t belittle Shunga by referring to it as porn, and perhaps on reflection this was a little simplistic. Of course this was artwork to be enjoyed, either by oneself or with a lover. It was graphic for its time, but not by modern standards, and for this reason I found it quite beautiful. Pretty much every sexual scenario is accounted for; intense love; nights of passion, sex with the holy (nuns), boy-boy, girl-girl, orgies…the LOT. It’s a celebration of love in its many forms, and it’s refreshing that the Japanese were so open, long before Europe took the stick out of their backside.
For someone who knew nothing about Shunga before I walked in, I found it very insightful. The artwork and imagery is beautiful, and you can truly appreciate the time and skill involved in producing these elaborate Shunga scrolls. That said there are only so many penis-vagina scenarios one can look at, and after about 45 minutes I was ready to leave.
If you are anything like me and want to be shocked, enlightened and learn a thing or to then it’s definitely worth a visit. If you are already familiar with Shunga, I’d say go online and fill yourself up on the images there.
FACT: The Japanese believed in seasonal sex and made sex toys to match. The summer toys were a litte more…breathable, than those used in winter. Seriously though, if they started mass-producing these sets, Ann Summers would have some, ehem, ‘stiff’ competition.
WORST BIT: There were a few couples walking around showing a little more PDA than you’d generally expect in a museum… which made me feel a tad uncomfortable.
Find out more and book tickets here here
P.S Say what you like about Shunga, but you can’t deny it has a sense of humour…
Historical Honey 2013 ©