contributor
26,979
edits
Changes
From SamuraiWiki
Jump to navigationJump to searchdone for now I guess
[[Image:Miyagawa Issho - Shunga emaki.jpg|right|thumb|300px|An early section from a ''shunga'' handscroll painting by [[Miyagawa Issho|Miyagawa Isshô]], c. 1750.]]
*''Japanese'': 春画 ''(shunga)''
''Shunga'' (lit. "spring pictures") is the term used to refer to ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' woodblock prints, woodblock printed books, and paintings of a graphic and erotic nature. ''Shunga'' was extremely common and popular in the [[Edo period]], and, contrary to societal mores or expectations of today, were not very strictly censored, compared to, for example, images of a political nature. Also contrary to what we might expect or assume today, ''shunga'' artists were not separate from those who produced non-erotic images; in fact, a great many of the most famous ''ukiyo-e'' artists, known for their landscapes, ''[[bijinga]]'', ''[[yakusha-e]]'', or other non-erotic themes, also produced ''shunga''. ''Shunga'' works include many of the most lavish examples of ''ukiyo-e'' - being printed on high-quality paper, and featuring the use of expensive pigments, materials such as silver, gold, and mica, and special techniques such as ''[[karazuri]]''.
Some scholars have suggested a strong connection between the emergence of ''shunga'' and the significant samurai population of [[Edo]] as a result of the practice of ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]''; according to this argument, ''shunga'' was created in parallel with the establishment of the [[Yoshiwara]] licensed pleasure quarters in order to satisfy the needs of these men for sexual release. Other scholars have countered this argument by pointing out that ''shunga'' was extensively produced in the [[Kamigata]] ([[Kansai]]) region as well, and that several [[kabuki]] plays suggest the popularity of ''shunga'' outside of Edo.
Meanwhile, regarding how ''shunga'' was enjoyed, or the reasons for its production, some assert that one of the chief roles or purposes of ''shunga'' was as a masturbatory aid. Others point to the numerous examples of ''shunga'' works which are generally believed to be guides for couples, girls' sexual education manuals, or works of a comical nature, as evidence against this argument. Further, they argue that ''shunga'' should be understood as being a part of the various genres of literature and publishing of the time, including didactic works, comical works, etc., rather than being severely separated out.
Many ''shunga'' works cited classical poetry or reimagined scenes from classical texts such as the ''[[Genji monogatari]]'', or more recent stories such as those from kabuki plays; this was often done in a parodic or satirical mode, sometimes incorporating ''[[mitate]]'', but the textual quotations of classical poetry or prose were also often cited directly, without alteration.
==History==
The so-called [[Kanbun Master]] (act. c. 1660s-1670s), whose name is not known, is generally regarded as one of the earliest and most prominent creators of ''shunga'' works.
Roughly one-quarter of the oeuvre of [[Hishikawa Moronobu]], and roughly two-thirds of that of [[Sugimura Jihei]], both active around the same time, consisted of ''shunga'' works.<ref>[[Richard Lane|Lane, Richard]]. ''Images from the Floating World''. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1978. pp44-54.</ref>
[[Isoda Koryusai|Isoda Koryûsai]], active a century later (c. 1760s-1780s), is considered one of the chief ''shunga'' designers of his time.<ref>Lane. pp111-114.; [[Anne Nishimura Morse|Morse, Anne Nishmura]] et al. ''The Allure of Edo: Ukiyo-e Painting from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston'' (江戸の誘惑： ボストン美術館所蔵 肉筆浮世絵展, Edo no yûwaku: Bosuton bijutsukan shozô nikuhitsu ukiyoe ten). Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun-sha, 2006. p182. </ref>
==References==
*"[http://shunga.honolulumuseum.org/index.php?page=1 The Arts of the Bedchamber: Japanese Shunga]." Honolulu Museum of Art. Exhibition website. Accessed 24 November 2012.
<references/>
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Art and Architecture]]
*''Japanese'': 春画 ''(shunga)''
''Shunga'' (lit. "spring pictures") is the term used to refer to ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' woodblock prints, woodblock printed books, and paintings of a graphic and erotic nature. ''Shunga'' was extremely common and popular in the [[Edo period]], and, contrary to societal mores or expectations of today, were not very strictly censored, compared to, for example, images of a political nature. Also contrary to what we might expect or assume today, ''shunga'' artists were not separate from those who produced non-erotic images; in fact, a great many of the most famous ''ukiyo-e'' artists, known for their landscapes, ''[[bijinga]]'', ''[[yakusha-e]]'', or other non-erotic themes, also produced ''shunga''. ''Shunga'' works include many of the most lavish examples of ''ukiyo-e'' - being printed on high-quality paper, and featuring the use of expensive pigments, materials such as silver, gold, and mica, and special techniques such as ''[[karazuri]]''.
Some scholars have suggested a strong connection between the emergence of ''shunga'' and the significant samurai population of [[Edo]] as a result of the practice of ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]''; according to this argument, ''shunga'' was created in parallel with the establishment of the [[Yoshiwara]] licensed pleasure quarters in order to satisfy the needs of these men for sexual release. Other scholars have countered this argument by pointing out that ''shunga'' was extensively produced in the [[Kamigata]] ([[Kansai]]) region as well, and that several [[kabuki]] plays suggest the popularity of ''shunga'' outside of Edo.
Meanwhile, regarding how ''shunga'' was enjoyed, or the reasons for its production, some assert that one of the chief roles or purposes of ''shunga'' was as a masturbatory aid. Others point to the numerous examples of ''shunga'' works which are generally believed to be guides for couples, girls' sexual education manuals, or works of a comical nature, as evidence against this argument. Further, they argue that ''shunga'' should be understood as being a part of the various genres of literature and publishing of the time, including didactic works, comical works, etc., rather than being severely separated out.
Many ''shunga'' works cited classical poetry or reimagined scenes from classical texts such as the ''[[Genji monogatari]]'', or more recent stories such as those from kabuki plays; this was often done in a parodic or satirical mode, sometimes incorporating ''[[mitate]]'', but the textual quotations of classical poetry or prose were also often cited directly, without alteration.
==History==
The so-called [[Kanbun Master]] (act. c. 1660s-1670s), whose name is not known, is generally regarded as one of the earliest and most prominent creators of ''shunga'' works.
Roughly one-quarter of the oeuvre of [[Hishikawa Moronobu]], and roughly two-thirds of that of [[Sugimura Jihei]], both active around the same time, consisted of ''shunga'' works.<ref>[[Richard Lane|Lane, Richard]]. ''Images from the Floating World''. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1978. pp44-54.</ref>
[[Isoda Koryusai|Isoda Koryûsai]], active a century later (c. 1760s-1780s), is considered one of the chief ''shunga'' designers of his time.<ref>Lane. pp111-114.; [[Anne Nishimura Morse|Morse, Anne Nishmura]] et al. ''The Allure of Edo: Ukiyo-e Painting from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston'' (江戸の誘惑： ボストン美術館所蔵 肉筆浮世絵展, Edo no yûwaku: Bosuton bijutsukan shozô nikuhitsu ukiyoe ten). Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun-sha, 2006. p182. </ref>
==References==
*"[http://shunga.honolulumuseum.org/index.php?page=1 The Arts of the Bedchamber: Japanese Shunga]." Honolulu Museum of Art. Exhibition website. Accessed 24 November 2012.
<references/>
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Art and Architecture]]
