Erotica Shunga
Posted in Asian antiquities and cuisine on 01/18/2012 12:56 pm by adminA Tribute to the Undervalued Ukiyo-e Master Koryusai by Marijn Kruijff
Introduction
Isoda Koryusai (c.1735-90) originally a samurai became, after the death of his master, the lord of Tsuchiya, a so-called rônin (a lordless knight) and a ‘floating man’. Most of these ‘floating people’ ended up in low water but Koryusai chose to be a painter and a designer of woodblock prints. At first he was most probably a student of Nishimura Shigenaga (1697-1756) but his friend and Ukiyo-e master Harunobu (c.1725-1770) had the greatest influence on his work. It was Harunobu who gave him the go (pseudonym) Koryusai, his real name was Masakatsu, which he had used once himself in the past. The respect and admiration for his teacher were so great that Koryusai developed his own style not until Harunobu died. He exceeded in different print formats and Ukiyo-e genres especially in the pillar print format and the shunga (erotic) genre which will be treated in the following paragraphs.
Pillar Print
Koryusai achieved remarkable results in the long and narrow format of the pillar print (hashira-e) using an unique style of opulent, rich and decorative coloring and for reintroducing the use of opaque orange (tan) which had chracterized the hand-colored prints of the past. He also utilized the vertical size of this format to give it the appearance of a hanging scroll (kakemono) acquiring a certain stratification. As in the conventional style of Japanese landscape painting the eyes of the viewer start at the bottom of the image leading the eye to the middle part and then to the higher part depiciting the background. In general hashira-e are rare because at the time they were attached to wooden columns as part of the Japanese interior and therefore more susceptible to damage. But due to the substantial quantity of pillar prints Koryusai designed in this format a lot of his designs have survived.
Erotic Work
“In color and line, in the creation of the total atmosphere of physical love, the best of Koryusai’s erotic color prints are unsurpassed in Japanese Art; and this particularly explains the high esteem in which he is held among connoisseurs – for few people have ever pursued the cult of artistic erotica as assiduously as the Japanese”. (Richard Lane)
During Harunobu and Koryusai’s period of activity government censorship was rather loose giving them the opportunity to experiment within the genre of shunga. Sometimes they even signed their designs often positioning them within the frame of a sliding door or screen. Koryusai’s early work resembles that of Harunobu but he gradually developed his own style using characteristic vivid colors (his famous orange!), expressing a multi-hued vitality and depicting more realistic figures. Initially woodblock artists worked in the chuban format (ca. 265 x 195 mm) until Koryusai introduced the larger oban format (ca. 390 x 265 mm) in the multi-colour printing medium creating two masterpiece series called ‘Sensual Colors, A Phoenix Released in the Field’ and ‘Twelve Holds of Love’ which were published in ca.1775. In the chuban format his most famous series is ‘Prosperous Flowers of the Elegant Twelve Seasons’ (ca.1773) depicting amorous encounters for each of the twelve months.
Conclusion
If one examines the literature on the history of Ukiyo-e and in special the artist Koryusai one realises the overall consensus among critics on his excellent craftmanship, originality and pioneering within this Japanese art. With the overall acknowledgement of his genius the question why he is so undervalued until this day becomes more explicit. Probably one of the reasons was Koryusai’s modest personality and the loyalty to his teacher and friend Harunobu sometimes even signing with his name. Jack Hillier raises an interesting theory in his book ‘The Japanese Print – A New Approach’ when he opts:
“There is always, especially among collectors, a tendency to make comparison between artist and artist, and with Koryusai it is perhaps a case of we look before and after and pine for what is not”.
Important Contemporaries
Chobunsai Eishi (1756-1829),
Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815),
Eishosai Choki (act. ca. 1789-1795),
Chokyosai Eiri (act. ca. 1789-1801),
Toshusai Sharaku (act. 1794-95),
Kitagawa Utamaro (1753 -1806),
Katsukawa Shuncho (act. ca.1780s-early 1800s),
Katsukawa Shunsho (1726-93).
Literature
‘Shunga, the Art of Love in Japan’ (1975)- Tom and Mary Evans,
‘The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga’ (Vol.3) (1995)- R. Lane,
‘Japanese Erotic Prints’(2002)- Inge Klompmakers,
‘Japanese Erotic Fantasies’ (2005)- C. Uhlenbeck and M. Winkel,
‘The Japanese Print – A New Approach’(1960)- J.Hillier
About the Author
We have a website called AK-Antiek and are also specialized in Japanese woodblock prints. Click here for info on Koryusai’s magnificent chuban shunga masterpiece series…etc. and Erotic work of contemporaries. Click here for more info on Japanese erotic prints!
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Decadence: 300 Years of Japanese Fetish Art $39.95 Used – A COFFEE-TABLE COLLECTION OF A FASCINATING TRADITION IN JAPANESE ART. This is a lush coffee table art book comprising a survey of Ukiyo-e poster art, which was a genre of Japanese wood block prints of the ancient Edo period (1600-1867) that continue to inspire and inform creators of Japanese manga and anime. Decadence focuses on shunga prints, or Japanese erotica. Shunga was designed to titillate, depicting a range of traditional themes such as exotic Asian beauties in intimate, pin-up po |
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Erotic Art, including: The Dream Of The Fisherman’s Wife, Shunga, I Modi, Fetish Art, Seattle Erotic Art Festival, History Of Erotic Depictions, Love Land (korea), Krishna And Radha In A Pavilion, Unseen (unseen.tv), The Swing (painting), Erotica Uk $17.75 Hephaestus Books,Paperback, English-language edition,Pub by Hephaestus Books |
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Erotica Around the World $12 From ancient Egypt to the recent past, this compilation of erotic stories, poems, songs, illustrations, and photographs follows the history of erotic art and literature. Designed to be tastefully displayed, this book contains excerpts from the Kama Sutra, the Chinese Golden Lotus, the Japanese Shunga, and, representing the Western tradition, the story of Salome and the Song of Songs from the Bible. |
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Lesbian Erotica: Lesbianism in Erotica, Lesbian Pulp Fiction, on Our Backs $8.87 Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher’s book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Depiction of lesbianism has been a relatively common theme in erotic art and pornography throughout history. Depictions of lesbianism are included among the erotic frescoes of Pompeii. Since the Renaissance, a number of European painters, particularly modernists, have included themes of eroticism between women among their work. These artists include François Boucher , JMW Turner. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres’s Turkish Bath depicts, in the foreground, a woman with an arm around another and pinching her breast. Gustave Courbet’s Sleep openly depicts two women asleep after love-making (indicated by the broken pearl necklace). Other painters include Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Gustav Klimt , Egon Schiele , Christian Schad, Albert Marquet Balthus , and Leonor Fini . More explicit depictions were an important part of the work of erotic illustrators such as Édouard-Henri Avril , Franz von Bayros Image:Franz von Bayros 003.jpg, Martin van Maële , Rojan, Gerda Wegener , Vala Moro , and Tom Poulton . Explicit depictions of lovemaking between women were also an important theme in Japanese erotic shunga, including the work of such masters as Utamaro , Hokusai , Katsukawa Shunch , Utagawa Kunisada , Utagawa Kuniyoshi , Yanagawa Shigenobu , Keisai Eisen , Kawanabe Kysai, and Ikeda Terukata . Audrey Kawasaki is a contemporary painter for whom erotic depictions of lesbianism form an important segment of her work. The rise of photography was instrumental in the genesis of modern visual pornography, but erotic themes, including erotic lesbian themes, have been an important genre in art photography. Erotic and fetish photographers, such as Heinz von Perckhammer , David Hamilton , Steve Diet Goedde , and Bob Carlos Clarke frequently have included themes of eros… |
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Neo Shunga: An Introduction to Japanese Pop Erotica $0.99 Japan’s shunga woodblock prints were originally created to advertise the facilities of the Edo-era pleasure quarters, including tea houses, restaurants and theaters, as well as the brothels. But this new art form quickly took on a life of its own, portraying every imaginable form of sexual activity from straight heterosexual acts through sodomy, bestiality and a wide range of fetishes. Today, these images of sex, many of which are grossly caricatured with outrageously proportioned genitalia, are highly sought after by collectors of art and erotica the world over. Neo Shunga, introduced here as part of the current Japanese trend of restyling traditional fashions for the 21st century, brings together in one volume some of the most fascinating images to come out of the shunga movement. These include acts of voyeurism, masturbation, menage a trios, group sex, and even bestiality with an octopus. Contains graphic sexual imagery |
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Sexuality in Japan: Japanese Bondage, Bukkake, Enjo K Sai, Homosexuality in Japan, Pornography in Japan, Host and Hostess Clubs, Omorashi $16.97 Used – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 41. Chapters: Japanese bondage, Bukkake, Enjo k sai, Homosexuality in Japan, Pornography in Japan, Host and hostess clubs, Omorashi, Shunga, Sexual minorities in Japan, Barazoku, Love hotel, Yellow cab, Yoshiwara, Weekly Asahi Gein, Tentacle erotica, Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club, Pink Box: Inside Japan’s |
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Sexuality in Japan: Japanese Bondage, Bukkake, Enjo K Sai, Homosexuality in Japan, Pornography in Japan, Host and Hostess Clubs, Omorashi $10.96 Used – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 41. Chapters: Japanese bondage, Bukkake, Enjo k sai, Homosexuality in Japan, Pornography in Japan, Host and hostess clubs, Omorashi, Shunga, Sexual minorities in Japan, Barazoku, Love hotel, Yellow cab, Yoshiwara, Weekly Asahi Gein, Tentacle erotica, Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club, Pink Box: Inside Japan’s |