Kyosai Shunga – Ishigami Aki and Sadamura Koto
Kyosai Shunga / “Sex and Laughter with Kyosai: Shunga from the Israel Goldman Collection,” edited by Ishigami Aki and Sadamura Koto / attractive 228-page paperback with jacket, 7.7 x 7.75 inches, published by Seigensha / text in Japanese and English; illustrated throughout / ISBN 9784861525896 / now out-of-print though we have some copies in stock / outrageously explicit work!
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Erotic art known as ‘shunga’, which emerged during the Edo period as part the ukiyo-e movement in Japan, was produced by almost all ukiyo-e artists at some point in their careers. Kawanabe Kyōsai, who was active in the second half of the 19th century, mastered a vast range of subject matter and styles, and also produced an extensive corpus of explicit ‘shunga’. The depiction of sex, the most basic of human activities, was naturally an opportunity for him to give free rein to his extraordinary wit and imaginative humour. This book offers an in-depth look at these artworks, their cultural context, and history, revealing Kyōsai’s prolific production as part of the culmination of the genre.
