Shunga: sex and pleasure in Japanese art

In early modern Japan, 1600-1900, thousands of sexually explicit works of art were produced, known as ‘spring pictures’ (shunga). Tim Clark is currently curating a major shunga exhibition at the British Museum, which celebrates this often tender, funny and beautiful erotic art-form, produced by some of the great masters of Japanese art such as Utamaro and Hokusai. Shunga is in some ways a unique phenomenon in pre-modern world culture, in terms of the quantity, the quality and the nature of the art that was produced. Showing some key works from the exhibition, Tim explored important questions about what shunga is, how it circulated and to whom, and why it was produced. In particular, he introduced the social and cultural contexts for sex art in Japan, reaffirming the significance of shunga in Japanese art history.

*This talk included content of a sexually explicit nature. Parental guidance advised for under 16s.

The exhibition Shunga: sex and pleasure in Japanese art is held at the British Museum from 3 October 2013 – 5 January 2014.

The exhibition catalogue, published by British Museum Press, was available for purchase at a special discount at the event. Lavishly illustrated, this volume features contributions from more than thirty authors worldwide, presenting new research and previously unpublished material from major public and private collections.

*The hardback book is normally priced at £50 and was sold for £40 on the night.

Tim Clark was joined by the co-authors of the catalogue for Shunga: sex and pleasure in Japanese art  for a panel discussion and a Q & A session.

About the contributors