Deux scènes érotiques ("shunga")

Description

colour woodblock print / paper, a) sheet of the series “Shikido juni-ban” - Twelve scenes of the art of Eros (“oban tate-e”), m: 25 x 37 cm, ca. 1784
b) sheet of the series “Imayo juni-kagami” - Twelve Mirrors of the Modern World, m: 25 x 38 cm, early 1780s

“Shunga” is the Japanese term for paintings, prints and images of any kind that express sexual acts in an explicit way.

As early as 1720, the permissive representations were officially banned, but were more or less tolerated, their sale “under the counter” was possible without having to fear sanctions. Towards the end of the Meiji period, around 1910, both the production and distribution as well as the possession of the images, which in the meantime have been perceived as obscene, were put under penal threat and this was also rigorously implemented by the state. As a result, much of the material was destroyed.

Until 1986 it was forbidden in Japan to show the “critical spots” in these pictures in books or at exhibitions. It was not until 1994 that the first uncensored “shunga” publication appeared in modern Japan, but public presentation continues to be subject to certain limitations.