Japanese Erotic Fantasies: Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period

Japanese Erotic Fantasies: Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period. Japanese Erotic Fantasies presents over 200 images, principally from the Edo period but also from the following Meiji era. Many of these works - drawn from international private and museum collections - are reproduced here for the first time. The catalogue is introduced by an essay from Chris Uhlenbeck which examines the history, meaning, function and market concerns of shunga. Ellis Tinios examines the facets of male-male sex in shunga imagery and the morphology of erotic books. Cecilia Segawa Seigle uses poetic and literary traditions to elaborate upon the relationship between shunga and women of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, and in a second shorter essay Seigle describes what a visit to the quarter would entail. Margarita Winkel considers the similarities and differences between sexually explicit illustrated books and gesaku literature. This is followed by a fully illustrated catalogue divided into six sections, each of which are prefaced by a brief introduction. Two short pieces on the sex shop Yotsumeya by Margarita Winkel and the genius of the Meiji artist Kawanabe Kyosai by Oikawa Shigeru also compose this catalogue section. The additional inclusion of a guide of book and print formats, glossary, exhaustive bibliography and Japanese character artist/title index make Japanese Erotic Fantasies the most in-depth study to date in English on the subject of Ukiyo-e erotica.