Shunga, a genre within ukiyo-e displaying the erotic secrets of ancient Japan. These prints where commonly created by using woodblock printing.
appear since the mid-eighteenth century but not in earlier hand-painted works. The men wearing tattoos represented the underworld of criminal gangs (yakuza) and highway brigands.
Bad Nature
Every now and then, men with tattoos of dragons, gods or symbols of their bad nature (such as skeletons or dice) are portrayed having peaceful intercourse with their lovers but more often they are more often shown committing violent
To name shunga a violent art is exaggerated but violence and death were subjects that were not avoided. Indeed the success of shunga in the 19th Century was certainly also determined by these exploitative..
rape
. Sometimes these tattooed
villains brutalize the woman’s partner or tie him up and force him to watch.
‘Tattooed client with courtesan on a pleasure boat
During the middle and late Edo period, the use of a pleasure boat was pretty common among the geisha and a favored client, for a private moment, away from the hectic of the Yoshiwara brothels. Boats played a crucial..
‘ (c.1850) attributed to Koikawa Shozan
(1831-1907)
‘A tattooed intruder is standing on the head of a bald-headed male’ (c.1839) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Although I dived deep into my shunga library (which lacks very few books on the subject) and also thoroughly researched the internet about the ehon (book) below, I unfortunately could not find much background..
(1797-1861)
Yakuza
Occasionally men appear tattooed with the image of a woman or name. Most are clearly in love, spying on the woman while she is with someone else. Perhaps the message these shunga were trying to convey was a moral one for society: if you join the Yakuza, not only will you fail to get the woman you love, you might even have to endure seeing her with another man.
‘Tattooed intruder‘ (c.1837) from the series ‘The Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan‘ by Utagawa Kunisada
Below you can check out the sensual images of a rare complete book series by Utagawa Kunisada. The title is ‘ Aki no Nanakusa (The Seven Flowers of Autumn)’ and the year of production is 1832. Size (book..
(1786-1865)
Suikoden Heroes
Parodies of this subject are also found, such as a woman having intercourse with her lover while holding up a mask of Hannya, a female demon considered to be a guardian of women, to frighten a tattooed man. When 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..
introduced the heavily tattooed Suikoden Heroes in 1827 he not only caused a tattoo hype in Japan, but all over the world and to this day.
‘Suikoden hero Tanmeijiro Genshogo having 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 the Princess of the Island of Women‘ (c.1828) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
‘Tattooed client in an illegal brothel‘ from the series ‘Ama no ukibashi (The Floating Bridge of Heaven)‘ by Yanagawa Shigenobu
The following forceful shunga design by Yanagawa Shigenobu (1787-1833) is the 10th plate from his masterpiece ‘ Willow Storm ‘ published in the late 1820s. Palanquin Bearers It exhibits a gang rape..
(1787-1832)
‘Tattooed fireman and lover‘ (c.1836) from the series ‘Shunjo gidan mizuage-cho‘ by Utagawa Kunisada
‘Tattooed ruffian and lover‘ (c.1827) from the series ‘Prospects for the Four Seasons (Shunka shuto shiki no nagame)‘ by Utagawa Kunisada
Detail ‘Tattooed back’
‘Tattooed villain‘ (c.1853) from the series ‘The Flower’s Smile (Hana no egao)‘ by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
Classic design portraying a distracted love-making couple. Kuniyoshi paid elaborate attention to the details of the large back tattoo.
‘Rape by tattooed villain‘ (c.1850) by Utagawa school
‘Completely naked tattooed male making love to his lover‘ (c.1900) by an unknown Meiji artist
‘Tattooed lover with dragon tattoo‘ (Meiji era) by an unidentified artist
Detail dragon tattoo
‘Tattooed man and lover‘ (4th Month Meiji 38/1905) from the series ‘The Scent of the Flower (Hana no kaori)‘ attributed to Tomioka Eisen
Below you can find a set of remarkable two-jointed prints designed either by Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905) or one of his followers. The artist shows the viewer the intimate activities of a couple up close by only focusing..
(1866-1908)
‘Tattooed hoodlum takes his lover from the rear‘ (c.1850) by a member of the Utagawa school
‘Sashichi and Koito‘ (c.1840) by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Stabbed to Death
The heavily-tattooed fireman Sashichi is having intercourse with his lover, the geisha
During their training, before becoming a competent and accepted geisha, the young maidservants (aka. maiko* or kamuro** ) learned the trade by attending the geishas of the highest class ( oiran ). The relationship..
Koito. At the end of this tragic love story he will stab her to death. In the heart-shaped cartouche we can see a sedan chair, a lantern and the knife that marks the end of their affair.
‘Tattooed male and geisha on the second floor of a brothel‘ (c.1835) from the series ‘Hana goyomi
Among the most famous erotic works by the great ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) is the hanshibon -sized illustrated book series Hana-goyomi (Flower Calendar) , that was issued in 1835. ‘Hidden..
‘After Kuniyoshi‘ by Alina Bushman
Painting ‘Passionate threesome with a tattooed male‘ (c.1930) by an unknown Japanese artist
‘Tattooed man with a yūjo (prostitute)‘ (c.1860s) from the series ‘Koi no Minamoto (The Source of Love)‘ by Ikkokai Meshimori
Detail of the back tattoo
‘Male tattooing his name to the inner thigh of his female lover‘ (c.1850) from the series ‘Charming Figures: Double Sided Mirrors‘ by Utagawa school
Painting depicting an intimate man sporting a dragon tattoo (c.1900)
Detail of the previous painting