Besides the stories of simple love and passion in daily life, shunga prints also portray a fantasy world. Among these a lot of them are orgies (Fig.1.). The numbers of men and women in such events are frequently alike, yet there are also designs of one man with multiple woman. Sometimes with the use of a harigata (dildo). (Fig.2).
Fig.1. ‘Orgy with five couples‘ (c.1823) from the series ‘Makuro Bunko (literally: Pillow Collection)‘ by Keisai Eisen
Gang Rape
It is unusual to see one women two or multiple men. Exceptions are the scenes of gang rape (Fig.3), or scenes with various men standing in line, waiting on their turn.
Fig.2. ‘Orgy with man making love to nine women‘ (c.1840) from the series ’Watching Colored Leaves‘ by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
Share Sex
The latter is scarce perhaps because most shunga artists and their clients were men, and their fantasies would not include having to share sex
Betty Dodson (born 1929) was trained as a fine artist in the 1950s, and in 1968 had her first show of erotic art at the Wickersham Gallery in New York City. In the 1970s, she quitted her art career and began studying..
with others. Another reason could also be that a woman who made love to multiple men would not be considered desirable by male viewers.
Fig.3. ‘Gang rape
The most shocking design from both the series Utamakura and Fumi no kiyogaki by Utamaro and Eiri are the ones depicted below. Let’s take a closer at these extraordinary examples of rape art… Plate..
‘(c.1834) from the series ‘Shinsetsu iro no nakidame‘ attrib. to Utagawa Kuniyoshi
(1797-1861)
Island of Sex-Starved Women
In some designs male fantasies include an island inhabited by sex-starved women (Fig.4.). Women are occasionaly depicted while fantasizing during their dreams such as a vision of a huge penis descending from the sky (Fig.5.), or masturbating while reading a shunga book.
Fig.4. ‘Sex Starved Females On The Rocks‘ (c.1830) from the series ‘Koi no minato nyogo no shima da‘ by Utagawa Kuniyasu (1794-1832)
Both Sexes
Sometimes the female’s partner lies next to her, noticing her fantasy and lust. Also designs showing both sexes fantasizing about the sexual organs of the opposite sex.
Fig.5. ‘Erotic dream‘ by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
Pornography
Although in some cultures such images could be considered pornography, it could be argued that these were intended simply to show how common and widespread human fantasies are, making the viewer feel comfortable in the knowledge that he or she is not alone in having such thoughts.
Fig.6. ‘Giant devil woman and sorcerer.’ (c.1828) from the series ‘Gazu gyokusõ-dan‘ by Keisai Eisen
After Hokusai , undoubtedly the most striking figure among the later shunga artists is Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Eisen was to prove one of the most prolific (together with Kunisada ) of all ukiyo-e shunga masters…
Devil Woman
Some of the fantasies are grimmer, like evil spirits trying to upset a couple having sex or featuring a giant devil woman (Fig.6.). But generally the designs are either amusing or pictures based on ancient Japanese myths.
The latter include bizarre countries inhabited by colossal sex-crazed people (Fig.7.) and tiny people interacting with sexual organs (Fig.8.) or examining their sexual behavior.
Fig.7. ‘Giant woman with harigata and little people‘ (c.1838) from the series ‘Sono-omo kage‘-series’ attrib. to Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) famous for his Suikoden Heroes series was also gifted at representing erotic imagery. He is responsible for designing some of the boldest examples in subject and form. The Kuniyoshi prints for..
(1797-1861)
Fig.8. ‘Beanman and Beanwoman exploring Genital Mountains‘ (c.1827) from the series ‘New Tale of the Welling Waters (Sentõ shinwa)‘ by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Fig.9. ‘Foursome‘ attrib. to Keisai Eisen (1790-1848)
Fig.10. ‘Giant woman with harigata and little people‘ (c.1838) from the series ‘Sono-omo kage‘-series’ attrib. to Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) (Source: ‘Shunga. Explicit art of Japan‘, 2016. Authors: A. E. Pushakova, K. G. Danelya)