Shunga Reproductions | |||||||||||||||||
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Uncut shunga were, ludicrously enough, not even shown publicly. When the great Utamaro Exhibition was held in London, his masterly erotic prints were naturally included. When the show was moved to the new Chiba Museum, however, they were not Recently Japan has finally begun to move toward a civilized public acceptance of the human body. The so-called "hair barrier" has fallen and primitive laws no longer apply (or, at least, are no longer exercised) to prohibit serious presentation. Since Japan has no laws against so-called obscenity ("obscenity" has never been legally defined), the objections usually voiced are concerned with protecting "public morality" and/or "the young." In prohibiting shunga, this evocation of the youthful is ironic because tradition has it that these prints were made for the enlightenment and education of this very segment of the population -- those youngsters about to be wed. It is accepted wisdom that shunga ("spring pictures") were a part of the young and innocent bride's trousseau, later to be pored over and emulated. Whether this is actually so is unlikely. Rather, perhaps -- as in the case of pachinko -- a mitigating reason was found for a suspected problem. Pachinko in Japan is called a healthy pastime and a reasonable public diversion, when actually it is legal gambling. In the same way, shunga became an educational tool for newlyweds when it is actually a celebration of the erotic. These prints -- a true apotheosis of the amatory -- are also masterpieces of composition, of color, of form. The erotic is aestheticized and we view (as in many another print genre) the everyday through the heightened eye of art. Mundane lovemaking becomes a distillate of the erotic experience. This is why it is difficult to view shunga as pornography. It appeals to so much more than the carnal appetite. (This does not mean that an original intention was not pandering. One bit of evidence is the effort made over the centuries to sensationalize the genre. I have been told that one of the ways to date manga is through the size of the members -- the larger the later.) But shunga appeals to the entire viewer -- brain and glands alike. Nonetheless, ever since Hokusai got severely scolded and Utamaro got put into handcuffs, the aesthetic intention of shunga has been denied by authorities interested only in law, order and repression. Published censored versions have been ludicrous. I remember one fairly recent publication where the private parts were covered by strategically placed five-yen coins -- regardless of any Freudian interpretation. In another the offending portions were covered with white cotton-wool before being photographed, thus lending an effect of geriatric frolics. Erotic intention is still commonly denied in this country, but at least unexpurgated shunga are now available. | ||||||||||||||||
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