Traditional Japanese erotic art – shunga – flourished during the Edo period (1603–1867), along with the rise of ukiyo-e woodblock printing. Some of the greatest artists of the time, including Kitagawa Utamaro and Katsushika Hokusai, employed ukiyo-e to depict Edo’s hedonistic ‘floating world’ of geisha, kabuki, sumo – and sex. Shunga was in great demand and widely available, despite an official ban, and developed into a highly sophisticated genre in which artists incorporated refrences to waka poetry and the Chinese classics while tiptoeing around taboos and government censorship.
But once Japan opened itself up to the Western world after centuries of isolation, Shunga was deemed ‘obscene’ and purged from the culture – for nearly 150 years, it turned out. Only after several critically acclaimed exhibitions had been held overseas did the first major display of Shunga open on these shores – at the Eisei Bunko Museum in 2013. That landmark show slowly cleared the way for similar exhibitions, and now Tokyo’s getting perhaps the most rousing (sorry) Shunga show to date.
From July 26 to September 30, visitors to the Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage can rest their eyes on around 100 pieces by the likes of Hokusai, Utamaro and Hishikawa Moronobu. Curated from the collection of Mitsuru Uragami, one of Japan’s foremost Shunga connoisseurs, the exhibition extends throughout the distinctive venue – from the Noh stage itself to the auditorium and dressing rooms. Yasutaka Hayashi from artist collective Chim↑Pom from Smappa!Group will be serving as art director, bringing a hefty serving of Kabukicho flair to what’s already looking like a show perfect for Tokyo’s most stimulating entertainment district.
Note that the exhibition is off limits to visitors under the age of 18.
