Graphic depictions of enormous phalluses and acrobatic sex positions have long rendered centuries-old Japanese erotic art taboo, but a rare exhibition aims to prove the genre is a world apart from male-centered porn.
Female pleasure instead takes center stage at the ¡°A Moment Interwoven with Culture and ¡¯Wa¡¯¡± exhibition showcasing around 150 pieces of shunga ¡ª an erotic form of ukiyo-e drawings and woodblock prints that flourished in Japan¡¯s Edo Period, which began in 1603. But so explicit is the art form in its depictions of nudity, genitals and sex that it was suppressed under Japan¡¯s post-shogunate Westernization drive in the late 19th century.
That stigma around shunga lingers more than a century on, with the genre often lumped together with commercial porn that objectifies women.
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