Forbidden Images of Homosexual and
Lesbian Sex in Shunga.
Shunga, literally "Images of
Spring", is the generic term used to describe erotic prints, books,
scrolls and paintings of Japan.
Only recently (1990s) the study of shunga
images depicting homosexual (male-male sex) and lesbian (female-female
sex) acts of love have been commenced. This belated research of this
"hidden domain" was caused by the official censorship in Japan
and also because of the unease and prudery concerning the specific
subject-matter in the past.
Homosexuality, in Japanese called nansoku
meaning 'male love', was not an uncommon phenomenon during the Edo
(today's Tokyo) period in Japan. In the early years of the Tokugawa regime
(early 17th century) men greatly outnumbered women in Edo. There were very
strict rules imposed by the government inspired by the loyal standards of
Confucianism which excluded women to participate in any kind of work with
the exception of household tasks. These regulations and the shortage of
women can be seen as deciding factors for the huge amount of homosexual
activities. The most characteristic feature of the depictions in shunga of
male-male sex is the relation between the two involved "lovers".
The leading and dominant male with his shaven head is always the older
one, this on the basis of seniority or higher social status, while the
subjected passive partner was a pre-pubescent or pubescent boy or a young
man depicted with a unshaven forelock.
These young boys are often shown in
female cloths and therefore easily mistaken for girls. They served as
pages to high ranking samurai's, monks, wealthy merchants or older
servants and were most desired during their adolesence especially between
the age of 15 and 17 years when the anus was still without hair. There are
also several shunga designs on the theme of threesome sex depicting one
man (always a young male) in the midst of sexual intercourse with a female
partner while being taken from behind by an intruder. In most shunga
images representing man/youth anal intercourse, the genitalia of the young
man are often concealed focusing the attention of the viewer on his
garment and elegant lines of the body.
While there was a Japanese term for
male-male (nanshoku) and male-female sex, joshoku or nyoshoku
meaning 'female love', there was no such word to describe female-female
sex or lesbianism. Most of the shunga's I have come accross as a dealer in
the past 15 years regarding explicitly female concentrated designs
(approx. 20 !) depicted either isolated women masturbating using her
fingers or a harigata (artificial phallus/dildo) or two intimate
women using this same sexual device. Hokusai (1760-1849), the most famous
Ukiyo-e master designed two lesbian ehon (book) prints including one with
two awabi (abalone) divers using a sea cucumber. Up to now the only
shunga featuring this subject that has been described in literature is
Eiri's famous design from his oban sized series 'Models of Calligraphy'
(Fumi no kiyogaki) published in 1801. In their book 'Shunga, the Art of
Love in Japan' (1975) Tom and Mary Evans make an interesting
comparison with Eiri's (they attribute it to Eisho) shunga design and the
paintings of the influential post-impressionist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec:
concentrated on the emotional bond between the girls, and the sad
emptiness of the way of life which thrust them into each other's arms,
Eisho (Eiri) was concerned with the physical details of their
relationship. And while even such an open-minded artist as Lautrec felt
that such details were more than could be reasonably presented to his
public, for the Japanese they were the central feature of the
(Evans - 'Shunga, the Art of Love in Japan')
It must be emphasized that these images
of lesbianism in shunga were the result of male fantasies, designed by men
and intended for a male audience.
Notwithstanding the embarassment the
Japanese at first felt for the representation of these suppressed themes
within the shunga genre it's exactly these particular images that provide
a profound view into the cultural and historical background of their
country during the Edo period.
'Shunga, the Art of Love in Japan' (1975)
- Tom and Mary Evans 'Sex and the Floating World' (1999) - Timon Screech
'Japanese Erotic Prints' (2002) - Inge Klompmakers 'Japanese Erotic
Fantasies' (2005) - C. Uhlenbeck and M. Winkel
Important Shunga Artists
Hishikawa Moronobu (? -1694) Suzuki
Harunobu (c.1725-1770) Isoda Koryusai (1735-90) Chokyosai Eiri (act.
c.1789-1801) Kitagawa Utamaro (1753 -1806) Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815)
Katsukawa Shuncho (act. c.1780s-early 1800s)
(1760-1849) Yanagawa Shigenobu (1787-1833) Keisai Eisen (1790-1848)
Kikugawa Eizan (1787-1867) Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) Utagawa Kunisada
(1786-1865) Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-89)
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