Shunga: Japanese Erotic Art from Ukiyo-e Tradition Explored in Vienna Exhibition

Key facts

• The 2016 exhibition "Shunga—Erotic Art from Japan" was held at the MAK Vienna, featuring prints from the Leopold Museum, the MAK collection, and Viennese private collections.
• Shunga, meaning "spring pictures," is a genre of ukiyo-e that was popular in East Asia and estimated to comprise up to 50% of all ukiyo-e production.
• Despite government bans, shunga was sold unsigned under the counter, and nearly all great ukiyo-e artists produced erotic pictures.
• Shunga often incorporates humor, dialogue, and metaphors from religion, philosophy, and medicine, with an emphasis on consensus and lack of violence.
• The prints were used for viewing and sharing among friends or partners, sexual education, and encouraging warriors; they were also valued by women and found among bridal goods.
• Most shunga depict ordinary people, but courtesans and Dutch or Portuguese foreigners also appear; while mostly heterosexual, male-on-male and female-on-female encounters and masturbation are depicted.
• Characters are almost always fully clothed because nudity was not inherently erotic in Japan due to communal bathing; clothing helped identify roles and highlighted genitalia.
• Genitalia are exaggerated and positioned unrealistically to increase visibility, interpreted as a "second face" expressing primal passions that women must conceal.