Rethinking "Shunga": The Interpretation of Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period

Author(s): Paul Berry

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Archives of Asian Art, Vol. 54 (2004), pp. 7-22
Published by: University of Hawai'i Press for the Asia Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20111313 .
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Rethinking Shunga: The Interpretation of Sexual Imagery of
the Edo Period
Paul Berry
Kansai Gaidai University

l\s the publication of uncensored reproductions of sexu Pornography, Shunga and Their Use," "Bodies, Boundaries,
ally explicit Ukiyo-e prints and paintings has gradually Pictures," and "The Scopic Regimes of Shunga!' These
become commonplace in Japan since the mid-1980s, a titles and further subheadings, such as "The Problem of
number of popular books devoted to this category, so-called Manhood" (p. 79),"Sexuality and Difference" (p. 88),"The
shunga ("spring pictures"), have emerged. The availability Historical Third Person" (p. 197), reveal the author's ambi
of these materials, including facsimile editions of entire tions to bring a variety of contemporary critical perspec
woodblock books with their texts set into modern type tives to bear on this visual material. In addition, Screech
face, has prompted an array of scholarly explorations of this has selected a broad array of anecdotal materials from
newly accessible area of Edo-period culture. During the Edo-period sources to support his exploration of interest
1990s scholarly symposiums,1 articles, and books began to ing topics ranging from the symbolism of pipes and blow
consider shunga from sociological, sexological, artistic, and ing (pp. 162-75), to telescopes (pp. 221-28), to representa
other perspectives. Among these, Timon Screech's Sex and tions of sexual activities with foreigners (pp. 280?88). In
the Floating World may have been the first English-language this cornucopia of perspectives, issues, and images, there
book-length examination of shunga aimed at setting "erot are many points worthy of comment. I shall, however,
ic images properly into their social context" (p. g).2 Sex and focus on only a few topics that are central to the overall
the Floating World was preceded a year earlier by a Japanese approach of this work.
version of the text, Shunga: Katate deYomu Edo no E (Shunga: Screech issues several warnings to the reader about the
Edo Images Read with One Hand). Since the publication of complications inherent in historical writing coupled with
these twin volumes, aworldwide discussion has ensued over the additional complexities of interpreting sexual themes
their content and approach. Paul Schalow hailed the work: and practices in foreign cultures. For instance, "Recent
"Screech's study takes a rigorously historical perspective on study of shunga has been undertaken by scholars rooted in
the images it addresses and situates each one carefully in its modern sexuality and who have not sought to remove
extraordinarily complex cultural setting," and "Sex and the themselves from it nor to address the Edo context in the
Floating World is a tour de force, unequaled by anything else language of alterity. The danger of misunderstanding pic
I have encountered on shunga in the theoretical sophistica tures by unconsidered application of modern categories
tion of the questions it poses."3 On the other hand, Allen can be shown. ...Our epistemologies of sex must be right
Hockley's more critical assessment asserts that "[Screech's] for the period being discussed" (p. 92). Despite this alert,
intention to recontextualize shunga is prefaced by what is Screech employs a variety of modern and/or Western cat
in fact an act of decontextualization," adding that "playing egories throughout the text, including the adoption of
fast and loose with the evidence in this manner is relative "pornography" as a functional translation for shunga and
ly common in the more poorly conceived of visual culture the use of gender analysis.
studies."4 Likewise, mixed reactions to the Japanese version Another route for misinterpretation is also described: "A
of the text have continued to appear, most recently in the great danger in art history is the temptation to believe an
two-volume collection of essays by ShirakuraYoshihiko et appreciation of images is equivalent to historical analysis.
al., Ukiyoe Shunga oYomu, published late in 2000. As these Too often, a response to a work on an emotional level is
discussions demonstrate, the issues and approaches raised by equated with understanding and thus taken as sufficient.
Screech are of ongoing significance. An analysis of some The argument would be that since works were originally
aspects of Screech's work in the larger context of current produced to solicit emotions, ifwe, in the present, are able
publications on gender, sexual practices, and Edo culture, to feel something in front of them, then we have tran
allows us to explore a number of the controversial aspects scended the barrier of time.... Reading Edo erotica in the
of these works and to rethink some of the problems same way it was read at the time is a problematic under
involved in the interpretation of shunga. taking, and we can never be quite sure we feel what earli
Screech organized the chapters of Sex and the Floating er viewers would have felt. ... Empathy teaches nothing
World around intriguing themes, including "Erotic Images, about the historical moment of making. Distance is

7
 important" (pp. 39?40). Yet in the following paragraph [Western] norms will need some adjusting for the Edo sit
Screech describes an aspect of his own approach: "In the uation, but in many ways they define shunga reasonably
first chapter we looked at the uses and consumption of well" (p. 89). Indeed, Screech not only employs the
shunga imagery, including what I have called 'normal' pic pornography conceit throughout the text, but occasional
tures of the Floating World. I sought to overturn the ly gets carried away, as in the final chapter where he col
romanticist notion that Edo pictures were somehow dif lapses distinctions between pornography, shunga, and sex in
ferent from what we know similar images are produced for a dramatic personification, "As pornography sought a larg
today" (p. 40). In one sentence the author not only col er space to occupy and the world of the pleasure districts
lapses the desired "language of alterity" and "distance" but came to seem insufficient, sex moved
increasingly rapa
assumes that our knowledge of what "similar images are ciously through space as sex and shunga moved outwards"
produced for today" is unproblematic. (p. 266).
The contradictions found in Screech's statements are Aside from some brief references to the volume of
those inherent in the production of historical writing. The essays edited by Lynn Hunt (The Invention of Pornography:
arguments for constructionist, reconstructionist, or decon
Obscenity and the Origins ofModernity 1500-1800), Screech
structionist approaches to the writing of history embody does not refer to the extreme complexity of the history
tensions between "accurate" portrayal and interpretion of and present-day situation of "pornography" in theWest,
the past and the
insight that authors of history are complexity that has not only resisted continuing attempts
inevitably shaped by an individual and collective present to consistently define it in legislation and in court rulings,
which configures the production of any narrative.5 On the but has resulted in a large and growing literature that
one hand, belief that objective representations of the past ranges from representating pornography as violence
can be accurately created by appropriate examination and against women to claiming for it liberating, healing quali
consideration of the evidence may lead to obfuscation of ties. A term of such complexity and current controversy
the linguistic and cultural presuppositions that underlie would seem a tricky analytic tool for investigating the
the text. On the other hand, obsessive absorption in the imagery and culture of mid-Edo-period Japan.6 To be use
problematics of the present may result in a solipsistic dis ful, it needs a clear statement of the author's own defini
regard for historical evidence. The contradictions between tion and its placement on the spectrum of the current
these extremes is ultimately unresolvable; it may be pro scholarly debates over the term.
ductive, however, to negotiate the differences while Only in the context beginning in the mid-1980s, when
accepting a measure of contradiction. This approach large numbers of unexpurgated shunga images were being
would resultin historical accounts and interpretations published while similarly explicit photographs of genital
being evaluated as to how productively these contradic areas in sexually orientated publications were still forbid
tions are recognized and navigated, it being assumed that den, does the term pornography vis-?-vis shunga seem
a variety of narrative approaches might be not only diverse useful. As the Japanese abbreviation porno has become
but also complementary. From this viewpoint, the appar commonplace in the postwar period, it may be justifiable
ent contradictions in Screech's
approach
are of less impor
to employ the term pornography in discussing a contem
tance than how well he negotiates these differences. porary Japanese environment in which the conditions of
In the introduction Screech asserts, "Erotic images of production, distribution, and consumption of sexually
the mid-Edo period can reasonably be called pornograph explicit materials in Japan considerably resemble those
ic, and I intend to use that term" (p. 8). In describing "the found in many Western countries. As legal interpretation
urbane world of mid-Edo-period erotica," he says, "We see in Japan has gradually moved to allow increasingly explic
something equivalent to what Peter Wagner has proposed it photographic images of genital areas, the pace of publi
as occurring at roughly the same time in Europe with the cation of collections of shunga imagery has slowed, possi
invention of a pure pornography, which is an 'aim in bly reflecting a market that spurns "artistic" imagery in
itself" (p. 8). Although the seemingly self-evident charac favor of photographic detail. Popular assumptions about
ter of the term requires no definition for the author, in the difference between "erotica" and "pornography"
discussing his identification of shunga as pornography he greatly affect the reproduction, distribution, and con
acknowledges that the English term, "may carry baggage sumption of sexual imagery. The distinctions made in
that is not entirely helpful" (p. 14). Later on, in a discussion America between X- and R-rated movies, between
of the visual and symbolic representation of genital organs, exhibiting the "art" of Mapplethorpe in museums and the
he suggests three points in which shunga differed from "the art-book section of bookstores and labelling as pornogra
norms of early modern European pornography" (p. 185). phy the similar but less "artistic" imagery sold outside of
Despite these caveats, Screech not only uses pornography culturally privileged locations, have their parallels in con
as the equivalent of shunga but applies critiques ofWestern temporary Japan; there it seems that censorship of shunga
pornography directly to shunga, allowing that "these declined before that of photographic images, because

8
 shunga, as a subcategory of Ukiyo-e, participated in money or time or in deference to social scruples that "pic
Ukiyo-e's
current elevation to
high-status
art work. tures were viewed by single men unable to find a partner"
Indeed, as analyzed in the "Aesthetics and Access" chapter (p. 42).8 In his debunking of the "myth of shared view
of Jane Juffer's At Home with Pornography: Women, Sex, and ings" he asserts, "Once real sex was initiated pictures would
Everyday Fife, similar materials are portrayed in theWest as seem to become rapidly superfluous, with painted genitals
erotica or as pornography using quite different marketing losing appeal when live ones were at hand" (pp. 36-37). In
strategies; contemporary Japan reveals a similar phenome this substitutional perspective men masturbated while
non. In the Edo period similar distinctions may well have viewing shunga when deprived of domestic or profession
been at work in the marketing, display, and targeting of an al sexual relations. Although the lack of a desired partner
audience between the non-explicit ahuna-e ("risky pic may indeed affect sexual behavior, much of Edo-period
tures") and explicit shunga or between versions of the literature and imagery suggests the nonexclusiveness of
same print that differed only in their level of general con sexual behavior rather than the substitution of one behav
cealment or
exposure. ior pattern for another. Books and pictures portray a given
Maintaining the near-identity of pornography and shun individual engaging in extramarital sex, in relations with
ga serves Screech's thoroughly presented contention that the same sex and with the opposite sex (sometimes simul
the raison d'?tre of shunga was the provision of masturba taneously), as well as in shared autoerotic practices. The
tory imagery for males: "The reader will have to tolerate substitution model is thus insufficient to explain complex
discussion of masturbation, for it is the central practice that patterns of sexual behavior.9
accounts for the genres here discussed" (p. 7). Admitting Among Screech's other rationales for interpreting shun
that his is an "a priori assumption" (p. 9), he devotes the ga as primarily used in masturbation is "the euphemistic
bulk of the first chapter to debunking any other interpre ...
[term] 'laughing pictures' (warai-e) [which] sounds less
tations of use and reiterates his own hypothesis through coy when we realize that 'laughter'
meant masturbation"
out the text. Screech's candor in making sexual references (p. 14). It is true that in certain contexts warai refers to self
is one of the refreshing aspects of his text, and it is cer stimulation, as in waraimono as a substitute term for the

tainly true that the use of shunga images for masturbation harigata (artificial phallus) often depicted in autoerotic use
has been overlooked or intentionally suppressed inmost of in prints.10 Though the term warai-e appears in the titles of
the critical literature. Nonetheless, his partiality for this a variety of shunga books, it is but one of many
insight prompts him to readily dismiss other, traditional, euphemisms employed for sexually explicit materials,
of the use of aids to learning which diminishes its metaphoric
explanations shunga?as power.11 The origin of
about sex (pp. 34-35), as prophylaxis against house fires (p. the use of warai as a sexual metaphor is controversial; some
have suggested that it came into use as a substitute for the
or as "an instrument to sex between men
34), encourage
and women" (p. 277).7 related character for saku ("to bloom").12 The character
Screech's approach to sexual activity seems to be based for warai has a long history of associations with sexual mat
on what might be called the "substitution model," where ters beyond masturbation; in China and Japan it is part of
in a person lacking one sexual outlet substitutes another. a compound expression for one selling sex.13 More signif
Masturbation, in particular, is seen as "substitutional sexu icant than the diverse sexual references for which it has
al acts" (p. 33). He employs this formulation repeatedly. In been employed is the literal meaning of warai, "laughter,"
the first chapter he sets out the importance of demo which points to the humorous intent of a large proportion
graphics: "...the shogunal capital of Edo (modern Tokyo), of shunga images. Time and again absurd sexual situations
also the centre of printing, which may have been two or
unlikely
encounters in
embarrassing circumstances sug
thirds male. This had clear implications for auto-eroticism gest the same level of sexual humor found in ky?ka and
and hence erotica. Many men lived in the large garrisons senryu verse.14 Although laughter and masturbation are
... and their barrack seems more
serving the Edo palaces quarters perhaps simultaneously possible, it plausible
deprived them of access to females" (p. 13). Although that many images
were intended more to stimulate a con

Screech skillfully discusses sex between men throughout temporary sense of humor than to incite physical activity.
the book, here he ignores the potential of such aworld to Screech overlooks the possibility that shunga may have
foster sex between men and emphasizes its autoerotic appealed as much for humorous content as for salacious
potential exclusively. If men denied sexual opportunities qualities.15 That use as a masturbatory aid constitutes only
with women need resort to masturbation as substitution, one of a variety of motives for the acquisition of shunga
then men desirous of a human (as opposed to fantasy) does not reflect one way or another on the frequency of
partner who successfully sought out sexual relations with autoerotic practices at that time. Indeed, as Screech illus
men would presumably have little need of masturbation? trates in "Produce" (ill. 3, ca. 1830), Man Using a Portrait and
perhaps only men with no access to an acceptable partner an Edo shape' (ill. 4, ca. 1760), and Kunimaro's Nun
Using
masturbate. Indeed, Screech assumes that itwas for lack of a Portrait ofMatsumoto K?shir? (?) (ill. 18, ca. 1830s),
people

9
 also masturbated without the use of explicit imagery. theater and prints of wrestlers to the sumo ring; the three
Again, is it not possible that married people masturbated occupations shared significant customs, including the pass
or that some performed autoerotic activities with their ing down of honorific names from one celebrated practi
partners? In other words, is this logic of substitution, tioner to another of a later generation. In shunga the
which assumes that sex between men and women is pri depiction of ever more diverse settings and practices was
mary and that other practices are adopted only when this likely prompted by the artists' and publishers' concern to
primary focus is unavailable, a viable model for the sexual maintain sales in an audience satiated with repeti
easily
activities of the time? tion. Indeed, the diversity found in all categories of
Setting aside further arguments and evidence that shun Ukiyo-e prints
was in part a
response to similar econom

ga served purposes besides masturbation, Screech's single ic concerns. This is but one of many factors that compli
minded focus on masturbation as the chief raison d'?tre of cate the use of Ukiyo-e imagery to interpret contempo
shunga conceals a larger omission. In defining the scope of rary sexual practices.
his work, Screech states that "all works of painting and Rather than acknowledge the close economic connec
print that participated in the libidinous economy and tion between prints and professional sexual activities,
which kindled or satisfied cravings for sexual activity are Screech asserts that "in professional locations (brothels),
treated" (p. 7), setting up an overreaching expectation in shunga were kept well out of the way" (p. 37). This opin
the reader. The key term here is "libidinous economy," ion echoes Seigle's statement that "in the seventeenth and
which the author employs in a largely metaphoric man most of the eighteenth centuries, theYoshiwara was a rel
ner. This
metaphorical usage, however, obscures the reali atively chaste and prudish community. Though pornogra
ty that the production, distribution, and consumption of phy existed, it was not generated by the Yoshiwara popu
shunga operated within a larger actual libidinal economy lation, nor was it particularly enjoyed by them."18
that made it profitable to mass-reproduce sexual imagery Although Seigle's point about enjoyment is hard to
through the maintenanceof complex ties to the social demonstrate either pro or con, shunga
and
prints
connect

environment, in particular to the libidinous areas inhabit ed to sexual labor were

drawn by artists familiar with the
ed by the diverse worlds of sex workers, including those in workers' situation and were published in great quantities
and around the Kabuki theater. in ways that publicized their services, demonstrating an
The perception of shunga as solely an aid to masturba interrelationship between prints and commercial sex that
tion as a substitutional activity eclipses the larger role of goes beyond the question of open display of sexual
prints as advertisements for sexual workers imagery. The great majority of sexual imagery, whether
Ukiyo-e
(including oiran, shinz?, kagema, and other ranks and painted or printed, was made in the handscroll, album, and
types), whose names and places of employment were often printed formats, suggesting that it was kept in drawers or
clearly stated on the prints.16 These numerous prints, boxes when not use, whether the locale was domestic or

although rarely sexually explicit, constituted a kind of professional. From Screech's theory that shunga served
advertising poster; they encouraged the viewer to see the only for substitutional sexual activitiesitwould follow that
named person as a possible objective for a paid sexual sexual imagery would be unnecessary in licensed quarters.
encounter. Though the sex workers depicted were unaf Yet numerous prints not only show shunga in professional
fordable by the wider viewing public, the images helped circumstances, but demonstrate shunga being used as
create and maintain their fame, enhancing their desirabil incitements to sexual activity,
to
suggest
new
positions,
or

ity in the eyes of those with the necessary finances to to restore flagging desires.19 The cross-cultural visual and
establish relations with them. As commercial sexual activ literary record of association between sexual imagery and
ities extended far beyond the licensed quarters of most sexual work and workplace, whether for advertising or for
cities to include the theatrical districts (where the workers additional stimulation, extends from historical times to the
were male), travel lodges, and river banks, commercial sex present, from Pompeii to Ming-period China, and
was accessible to all but the truly impoverished.17 Given although the visual evidence of Ukiyo-e prints depicting
the tremendous scope of commercial sex at this time, the the licensed quarters does not constitute incontrovertible
prints celebrated the higher-priced of the use of it should stand until
multiple ways Ukiyo-e proof shunga, disproven.
purveyors and facilitated participation by giving their In addition, the publisher Tsutaya J?zabur? was located
names and locations, and the printing of saiken (detailed beside the front gate ofYoshiwara, suggesting that his erot
guides to the licensed quarters) that sometimes included icworks were purchased by visitors to theYoshiwara along
prices and ages, it is evident that the production of prints with his regularly published saiken guides to the sex work
was closely tied into an economy built on the provision ers of the district.20
not only of fantasy but of actual sexual services. These Turning to the topic of gender construction, Ukiyo-e as
seem to have related to their a whole a of
prints of sexual workers provides plethora fascinating examples, yet
employment much as actor prints related to the Kabuki Screech's employment of gender, although clear in places

10
 (pp. 92-93), is too often vague or misleading. Often "gen bodily gestures, movements, and styles of various kinds
der" seems to become a sophisticated code word for the constitute the illusion of an abiding gendered self,"25
physiological sex of the body, as in "the gender of the mas allows for an effective analysis of the behavior of the male
turbator" (p. 16), or when "gender" is sprinkled into a dis kagema who enacted female gender roles as a part of their
cussion of physical sex differences in illness and autopsy work, including sexual labor.26 Although most often
regimes (pp. 96?98). This confusion of sex (physiology) employed by males seeking sex with men who performed
with gender (bilaterally disposed21 patterns of behavior) is female genderroles, kagema were also employed by
clearly revealed in the following passage: "Here we women desiring service from men displaying female gen
encounter a fundamental difference in ways of construing der behavior. This latter practice, testified to in various
sex and gender: the Edo sense, and that of its antecedents, contemporary texts,27 is occasionally depicted in prints,
was that concerted deportment in a given gender role will such asUtagawa Toyokuni's triptych Kagema toGoten foch??
shift the person across into that gender; this new gender (ca. 1830-1844) in the Victoria and Albert Museum.28 This
will to all intents and purposes become the person's new print depicts three kagema entertaining three women with
sex" (p. 100). Far from "concerted deportment in a given samisen and conversation. These situations raise the possi
gender role [shifting] the person across into that gender" bility of sexual encounters between members of the same
being a special aspect of Edo-period culture, one of the gender but different sexes, the reverse of the same-sex
important insights of gender analysis is that this is true in relations between opposite genders represented by male
general,
as
well-practiced
transvestites can attest.
employment of kagema, and different again from sexual
Simultaneously, it is also clear that shifting into a new gen relations between two males both of whom displayed the
der is just that and nothing more, and thus the contempo same gender behavior. The popularity of male kagema led
rary international fashion for hormone treatments and to the development of female "kagema," or women who
transsexual surgery in the attempt to make the physical sex adopted the complex gender display of a man acting the
correspond
to a new
gender role. female gender.29 This layered gender portrayal was already
Although Screech's extensive bibliography includes found on the Kabuki stage, when male actors played
only a few titles that focus on construction and women as men. This array of gender perform
gender disguised
analysis, one of them is Gregory Pflugfelder 's article, ances raises many questions worthy of inquiry as to the
Strange Fates: Sex, Gender and Sexuality in Torikaebaya popularity of opposite genders in same-sex encounters
Monogatari,22 in which he provides definitions of sex and and the predilection among women for men appearing in
gender with a clarity that would have greatly expedited female gender roles.30
Screech's analysis of Kabuki actors assuming female roles, The complexity of gender roles is revealed in prints
his discussion of "unisex styles," and so forth.23 Pflugfelder introduced in Screech's text, such as Harushige's (Shiba
makes the additional
distinction between "sex," denoting K?kan, 1747-1818) Amagoi from the series F??ry??Nana
biological sex, and "sexuality" and "sexual," referring to Komachi (ill. 53, ca. 1770).31 The two principal figures are
socially and historically constructed patterns of sexual a y??jowho is scratching the neck of a wakashu who is
practice. These definitions have a great potential for clari looking intently at a Harunobu print of Osen, the cele
fying the analysis of the employment of Kabuki actors and brated woman who served tea next to Kasamori Jinja (Fig.
other males associated with the theatre districts as profes 1). Nait? Masato's identification of the central figure as a
sional sex
partners,
a
topic
Screech raises on several occa wakashu may rely in part on the wide, front-tied obi that
sions.24
implies a feminine gender role despite the shaved pate vis
The subject of sexual activity between males arises in ible under the swept-back forelock of his headdress.32 The
more than thirty places, initiating discussions that occa nature of his gaze is ambiguous. Does it represent sexual
sionally extend to three or four pages. The ease with
longing for this celebrated tea seller or envy of the popu
which Screech moves between discussions of same-sex lar acclaim for her performance of the female gender role?
and opposite-sex amatory relations admirably avoids the The scene is further complicated by the figure seated next
ghettoization of same-sex activities within a single chap to the hibachi. Although the comb and flower-tipped hair
ter or section. Nonetheless, while not changing his well pins are appropriate to the role of a shinz? ( an adolescent
balanced distribution, an additional chapter or chapters attendant to a senior y??jo), the hair style is otherwise male
focussed more specifically on same-sex relations would identified down to the shaved scalp visible under the fore
have allowed deeper analysis of some of the most involved lock. Is this a woman with a masculine-influenced hair
and to gender or a
interesting Ukiyo-e imagery related and style kagema revealing with his bare scalp an indica
sexual practice. tion of an underlying male gender status? The rich com
Judith Butler's emphasis that gender is performative, plexity of sexual and gender practices as portrayed in
"being produced through the stylization of the body and, Ukiyo-e prints and paintings such as these still awaits sig
hence, must be understood as the mundane way in which nificant analysis.

11
 i. Suzuki
Fig. Harushige
(Shiba K?kan, 1747-1818).
Detail of Amagoi from Fi?ry??
Nana Komachi.The Nelson
Atkins Museum of Art. Courtesy
of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of
Art, Kansas City, Missouri
(Purchase: Nelson Trust),
32-143/54.

Throughout the text Screech argues for a definition of be the version of Chigo no s?shi (Tales of Acolytes) with a
shunga as limited to explicit imagery created from 1700 to colophon dated to 1321 in the Sanb?-in collection at
1820, suggesting that earlier and later depictions of sexual Daigo-ji. It depicts a variety of adult men copulating with
activities were of a fundamentally different character.33 He younger men with feminine hair styles in a range of posi
asserts that sexual imagery prior to the eighteenth centu tions.36 The many versions of the Koshibagaki S?shi (Tales
... have to do with humour
ry "typically and parody, and of a Brushwood Fence) handscroll claim to be derived from
seldom show couples copulating" and that "phallic com a late Heian-period tradition recounting the illicit affair
... as renditions of elegant between the Nariko at
petitions, farting, disappeared imperial princess residing
bedrooms and fine-clad lovers emerged" (pp. 7-8). Yet a Nonomiya Jinja and Taira no Munemitsu in 986. Although
survey of published materials reveals many images that the oldest extant example may date from the early
suggest a quite different chronology. There is a tradition Muromachi period, it believably suggests a late Heian
that phallic contest scrolls were initiated in the late Heian atmosphere in dress and furnishings.37 The various scenes
by the noted painter Toba Kakuy? S?j? depict intercourse between a male and female figure in
period
(1053?1140), whose name is associated with a handscroll court dress in a variety of architectural settings and in the
Y?motsu Kurabe (Competition of Male Members) on this nude against a blank background.38 Not only did coital
theme in the collection the Konsh?-in
of subtemple of positions remain unchanged over hundreds of years, until
Although no extant
painting can unquestionably the end of the Edo period, in the many copies found in
T?ji.34
be shown to be the work of Kakuy?, the common attri these two handscroll traditions but very similar positions
bution of comic ink sketches to him gave birth to a broad are seen in Ukiyo-e prints of the eighteenth and nine
er category titled Toba-e. Toba-e handscrolls were especial teenth centuries. Although hair, clothing, and painting
ly popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and styles changed continuously over time, the types and posi
most of the numerous comic handscrolls depicting phallic tions of sexual relations show a fundamental consistency
competitions, farting, or comparative sexual gymnastics rather than the evolution suggested by Screech. That atti
date from recent times, whereas examples earlier than the tudes towards this genre may have evolved or varied is a
seventeenth century are rare.35 Even if the tradition had separate and more complex question, yet evidence for
ancient origins, it seems that its popularity increased such changes may be better sought in textual accounts,
throughout the Edo period. Moreover, prior to the eigh given the remarkable continuity found in the depiction of
teenth century, images of sexual intercourse, far from specific acts and positions.
being rare, constitute the primary sexual themes from Screech's attempt to define shunga as specific to the
Muromachi paintings to the seventeenth-century shunga mid-Edo period extends beyond his contention that ear
prints. The oldest extant sexually explicit handscroll may lier salacious imagery typically excluded intercourse, to his

12
assertion that "eighteenth-century shunga
never enter appears in other prints, such as Utamaro's 1788 Kappa to
tained the possibility that a partner might be unwilling; no Ama, which depicts a struggling ama (underwater diver)
one was forced" (p. 277), whereas later "actual rape being forced by two male kappa (river imps) as another
becomes a shunga fetish, either by friends and relatives or female diver watches from above with a smile.43 The

by burglars and cut-throats" (p. 279). Referring to changes incongruity of the onlooking amas reaction seems to
that began "around the second decade of the nineteenth have been humorously intended, as is also true for many
century" (p. 8), he notes, "A new impetus is seen towards of the violation scenes found in shunga after 1820. To
depiction of coercive, violent encounters. Despite the assess the significance and social impact of assault scenes
of prostitutes in earlier pictures, with all that during the Edo period requires untangling a complexity
prominence
this implies of exploitative relations, equality had been of meanings that are unlikely to be reducible to a single
honed into the pictorial norm" (p. 9).These thoughts even simple explanation.44 As the tradition of violent sexual
tually lead to his concluding passage: "The period treated imagery extends throughout the eighteenth century, it
in this book was not a golden age of sex for all relation weakens the argument that such a great change occurred
on inescapable as to constitute a new
ships were founded disequilibriums of in the mid-nineteenth century
powers. But itmay have been one of the finest times in the genre.

history of erotic pictures. The late eighteenth century was As Screech notes, in Ukiyo-e imagery dealing with sex
at least an age when parties wished to represent sex as workers, some of whom had been indentured into the
pleasurably shared and mutually sustaining. ...We should business as children, the implication of mutual choice or
consider the possibility that itwas the very commercialism consent seems greatly compromised. If these images do tell
of Edo sex, and the self-evidence of its not being the result such "profuse lies," are they outright falsehoods, conceal
of people choosing to come together, that required eroti ing the coercion and the lack of free choice of partners
ca to compensate with such profuse lies" (p. 288). that were common
knowledge,
or are
they, rather, decep
But is eighteenth-century shunga really so egalitarian tive in the manner of most commercial
advertising, sug
and free of coercive imagery? The greatest handicap in gesting that Yoshiwara and similar places could provide
resolving this point (and in making broad statements in happiness not only in sexual matters but in the consump
this area in general) is that even now only a fraction of the tion of fine music, food, and drink accompanied by ele
total amount of shunga imagery is available for study, and gant and witty companions? The Edo-period context?in
much of the published material consists of collections that which most marriages were arranged, most men followed
reflect the interests of the editors more than a propor in their fathers' occupations, class mobility between social
tionate representation of the subjects and themes origi strata was limited, when even travel was restricted in vari

nally published. Nonetheless, eighteenth-century images ous ways?shaped the whole concept of freedom of
of coercive sex may not be all that rare. Okumura choice. To the degree that such a concept existed, it was
Masanobu's (1686-1764) untitled book, circa 1744-1747, usually framed by the assumptions of the social order,
includes an image of a fully dressed samurai assaulting a which validated the social conditions as they were, includ
woman out of doors, he restraining her contorted body as ing the institutionalization of sex work. From this stand
she attempts to stab him with a knife.39 In Katsukawa point, lack of choice might be lamented in double-suicide
Shunsh?'s (1726-1792) Ehon Chiyoda Meshi of 1786 Kabuki dramas, but social norms were rarely challenged or
there is a scene of a robber assaulting a nude woman seriously questioned except under the stress of famine or
while threatening to sell her after assaulting her equally during the gradual collapse of theTokugawa regime in the
nude father who is holding her shoulders down.40 late Edo period.
Ch?bunsai Eishi's (1756-1829) untitled album, circa Setting a time limit to his study of shunga may easily be
1789-1800, illustrates a bandit assaulting a female traveller accepted as an arbitrary necessity for achieving a period
on the
roadway as her male companion flees in the dis focus, yet the justification that these chronological bound
tance.41 Finally, Kitagawa Utamaro's (1754-1806) Ehon aries are found in the material itself, that the sexual
Futamigata,
circa 1801?1803, shows a masked
burglar
with imagery of 1700 to 1820 differs dramatically from its
drawn sword having intercourse with a bound woman in antecedents and sequelae, skews the interpretation. Such a
her own home.42 Although these are only four of many periodization raises questions about the singularity of the
examples, the chronological range and the prominence of time period; it also ignores the continuities within the tra
the artists suggests the widespread appearance (if not a dition of erotic imagery. Another approach might be to
precise percentage) of coercive imagery in the eighteenth contrast the unique aspects of sexual imagery ofthat peri
century. It is true that most of the dialogues accompany od with the ongoing features of the tradition, including
ing such scenes suggest the common conceit of someone the persistency of certain sexual acts and positions, the
being forced to go beyond the bounds of propriety to economic basis for the production and sale of the prints,
achieve what they had long desired. This kind of irony and their relation to the licensed quarters.

13
 Fig. 2. Suzuki Harunobu
(1724-1770). Autumn Moon of the
Mirror Stand from the album
J)
p Furyu Zashiki Hakkei (ca. 1768).
From Kobayashi Tadashi, ed.,
Suzuki Harunobu: Furyu Zashiki
Hakkei (Tokyo: Gakush?
Kenky?sha, 1994).

Another area of interest is the author's intent to "offer prints. The more
prints
one surveys, the more examples of
...
close readings
of some
images
in order to assess their just such borrowings multiply. Harunobu is famous for his
status as figures of representation within the larger field of use of the works of his mentor, Nishikawa Sukenobu
painting and printing" (p. 9). This responsible approach (1671-1751); indeed, the Harunobu print (ca. 1768)
may be difficult to execute given the range of painting tra Autumn Moon of theMirror Stand from the album F??ry??
ditions that need to be considered to make certain inter Zashiki Hakkei (ill. 36, Fig. 2) is adapted from an image
pretations. In his discussion of a print by Hokusai, Screech found in Sukenobu's Neya no Kusutama (ca. 1716?36;
refers to the artists production of "a patterned kimono Fig. 3) A7 As Sukenobu worked decades earlier in Kyoto,
written flat across the male body, as if to deny it any epis either the Harunobu work needs be taken as a view of an
temological validity. The representation of fabric flat across older Kyoto (rather than a contemporary Edo) locale, or
folds and pleats was Hokusai's choice; he was able to show the architectural differences between the two were sominor
how design is effected by bunching where he wished to" as to go unnoticed by the contemporary viewer. This
(p. 122). Although this was Hokusai's decision (or at least example, beyond illustrating the problematic aspects of the
his carver's),45 the notion that Hokusai was attempting to interpretation of prints, poses the question concerning the
deny epistemological validity to the body is weakened motive for borrowing. Screech offers Hiroshige's prolifica
when we consider that "flat" fabric design and design cy as a reason why he would find it unnecessary to bor
modulated by fabric folds had both been used in Japanese row a composition, but itmay be instead that such a volu
figure painting for hundreds of years.46 minous output could only be maintained by regular bor
Screech is intrigued by an instance in which Hiroshige rowings. Indeed, the popular image of Ukiyo-e artists
(1797?1858) copied a composition of Utamaro's; "Why being so overwhelmed by their creative powers as to gen
did Hiroshige borrow this picture and why, in borrowing erate the nonstop productivity that so many careers illus
it, did he change it? It seems unlikely, in view of his enor trate belies the reality that even noted print designers were
mously prolific output, that Hiroshige was just sparing paid very little for their work and that their prodigious
himself labour. ... I suspect that Hiroshige was deliberate output was often driven by economic forces.48
ly referring back to an original he expected his readers to Considering the broader context of Edo painting, in
know" (p. 124). More pertinent than the slim possibility which Kano artists endlessly repeated old compositions,
that people half a century later would quickly recall a literati painters spun variations on the Chinese paintings
minor work of Utamaro's is the fact that such borrowings they viewed, and Tosa and Rinpa painters used ancient
were standard practice throughout the history of Ukiyo-e works like image banks, it is likely that those viewers who

H
 Fig. 3. Nishikawa Sukenobu

(1671-1751). Illustration from

Neya no Kusutama

(ca. 1716-1736). From Fukuda

Kazuhiko, Edo no Seiaigaku

(Tokyo: Kawade Shob? Shinsha,

1987), p. 17.

noticed the resemblance to Utamaro in the Hiroshige Though the author occasionally uses the term "sex
would have recognized this as standard artistic worker" (p. 53), the use of the terms "prostitute" and
print
process. Fully self-conscious references to an artist such as
"prostitution" throughout the text could also be revisited.
Utamaro may have first occurred the works of in In contemporary studies of commercial sex activities, the

Yoshitoshi (i839-1892), generated by Meiji-period nostal term sex worker has

gained increasing recognition.
Kamala Kempadoo states the basic position: "the notion of
gic interest in the lifestyles and artists of the Edo period.49
Screech's treatment of the above-mentioned Autumn the sex worker has
emerged
as a
counterpart to tradition

Moon of theMirror Stand by Harunobu (Fig. 2) raises fur ally derogatory

names.... it is a term that suggests we view

ther questions of interpretation. That Edo-period culture not as an ... but as an

prostitution identity income-gener
was male dominated is easily agreed but hardly demon ... for women
Jo Bindman
and men."51 elab
ating activity
strated by this print of sexual activity performed leisurely orates: "The designation of prostitution as a special human
before open shoji doors, the man smoking a pipe while the rights issue emphasizes the distinction between sex work

nearly nude woman combs her hair and casually addresses and other forms of female, dangerous and low-status labor,
him under her raised arm. It is hard to understand how such as domestic or food service work, or work in facto
this scene supports the statement that "control and disci ries and on the land. It hides the commonality, the shared
pline are essential in this world, and an unschooled free experience of exploitation, which links people in all such
dom is quite impossible" (p. 136). work. ...An employment
or labor perspective, designating
Screech a variety of terminology for sexual prostitution as sex work, can bring this work into the
employs
relations between men, including several Japanese terms, mainstream debate on human, women's and workers'

especially nanshoku; English terms include "homoeroti rights."52

cism" (p. 63) and "homosexuals" (p. 294) but he prefers Although the term sex worker has emerged from stud
"male-male sexuality" (p. 9).The terms homosexuality and ies investigating the contemporary worldwide situation, its
have drawn increasing criticism as modern use may help achieve a balanced perspective inWestern
heterosexuality
constructs that assume an
underlying
monolithic sexual studies of sexual commerce in Japan and elsewhere.
structure rooted in psychology and/or biology.50 Using Heretofore the overriding tendency has been to create a
the constructions male-male and female-male directs mystique around the lives led amid luxurious architectur
attention to actions rather than fixed identities. As the al settings and elegant fashions by the elite members of the
controversy
over
appropriate terminology increases, one licensed quarters.53 Emphasizing their indentured servi
wishes that Screech had further elaborated his brief tude is a valuable corrective but should not be taken to the
remarks regarding usage (pp. 9, 91). point of negating the value of the skills they developed.

15
Both these approaches have likely contributed to the near an artificial device ... are
usually products of highly imag
total neglect of the historical records and achievements of inative non-Yoshiwara male artists. Such artificial devices
individual women. Although quantities of letters and would have embarrassed Yoshiwara women or made them
poetry in fine calligraphy remain, they have gone little burst out laughing."56 Tanaka, on the contrary, affirms the
studied, even in Japan. The information in the saiken Edo-period use of the harigata for masturbation and in
guides, coupled with prints showing named women, could relations between women and between men and women

also be collated to reveal the public marketing image of as seen in many prints.57 Due to the advertising nature of
individual women. The lack of such studies of individuals prints that named prominent figures in Yoshiwara, it is a
in contrast to the volume of publications regarding daily near certainty that the women of the licensed quarters
life within the licensed quarters attests the tendency to were concerned about their representation in prints. The
stereotype
women and men either as
elegant
actors on a
depictions of ever evolving modes of fashion and hair
social stage or as utterly manipulated victims, in either case styles would have also interested a wider female audience,
obviating the perception of their individual careers, who would have been drawn as well by curiosity toward
achievements, and sufferings. Despite Screech's warning and enjoyment of sexual imagery
about contemporary attitudes interfering with our histor To infer possible viewpoints of Edo-period women
ical perspective (cited at the beginning), this is an area toward shunga is difficult, but not to make the attempt is
where awareness of current trends in the study of the lives to risk the denial of their existence for an interpretation
and circumstances of our contemporaries may help that questions and analyzes only male attitudes and prac
achieve amore illuminating approach to the past. tices. Here again, recent studies of female viewership of
The consideration of female viewership of shunga is a sexually explicit materials in the West suggest lines of
related issue. The reference to reading with one hand inquiry about attitudes of women during the Edo peri
found in the subtitle of the Japanese version is drawn from od.58 Although depictions of female sexual desire in shun
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions (1782): '"those dan ga have often been thought to represent merely a male
gerous books that a beautiful woman of the world finds fantasy of women always ready for sex, it has also been
bothersome because, as she says, one can
only
read them
proposed that they imply the existence and approval of
with one hand.'"54 This reference to a female
audience for some forms of female sexual desire.59 The recent work of

pornography in eighteenth-century France is augmented Tanaka Y?ko maintains that female sexual desire, acknowl
by mention of Japanese prints that depict women mastur edged during the Edo period, was gradually denied under
bating while looking at nise-e ("paintings of resemblance") the influence of Western-style medical and religious
prints of actors, and by a discussion of works by the female instruction during the Meiji period.60 Although acknowl
painter InagakiTsurujo (act. late 18th c.) that briefly con edging that the main production of shunga was by men for
siders a female viewpoint. Nonetheless, "despite male consumption, Tanaka and Saeki Junko maintain that
Rousseaus's bon mot ..., which puts pornography firmly shunga reveals some aspects of female sexual practice and
into the zone of female consumption," Screech usually desire in the Edo period.61 Admittedly the work of these
adopts, "the more usual stance [which] is to see the pre and other scholars is far from conclusive, but the inaugu
ponderance of erotica as pertaining to amale (and hetero ration of research into female sexual practices and interests
sexual) gaze" (p. 88). He continues, "These norms will in the Edo period will help correct the biased view that
need some adjusting for the Edo situation, but in many shunga
was an
exclusively male
preserve.62
ways they define shunga reasonably well" (p. 89), conclud The reading of Sex and the Floating World is enhanced by
ing, "Edo pornography seems to have been useable by consulting the earlier Japanese version of the text, Shunga:
women, although whether this resulted in the creating of Katate deYomu Edo no E (Shunga: Edo Images Read with One
specifically female-oriented imagery, or whether women Hand), published in 1998. Not only does the Japanese ver
and girls consumed pictures destined to perpetuate male sion have a proper-name index not found in the English
fantasies, is a moot point" (p. 89). volume, but the characters for many of the obscure print
the questions of viewership and viewing are and book titles (often with furigana readings) are of great
Although
vantage points (rather than help in referencing source materials. Screech has
complex and establish multiple original
singular or binary), they become moot only when not been fortunatein his long working relationship with
Prints from awide
variety of time periods show Takayama Hiroshi, a professor of eighteenth-century
explored.
women viewing shunga prints and handscrolls.55 Yet assess English literature at Tokyo Toritsu Daigaku, who translat
as assess ed five of the six books on different aspects of Edo culture
ments of their meaning today range as broadly
ments of the use of the harigata (artificial phallus). Seigle that Screech has published in Japan since 1995. A prolific
denies sexual relations between women:"... certainly there author and translator, Takayama's publications include a
was no tradition of homosexuality among women. The volume of discussions on Edo-period culture with some

shunga depicting two women engaged in activities using of the noted scholars of the field.63 Some of the titles and

i6
 order of sections of the Japanese text differ from the teenth century the Edo Shirakura
through period.
English version; the first two chapters become three in the explores the male akus? ("evil countenance") that makes
English version. Related passages can be located by using such a contrastive counterpart to the standard depictions
the name index or by scanning the text to find the same of female beauty in Ukiyo-e. The texts accompanying the
illustrations (not all images appear in both texts). Although images reveal intent to generate reactions from
ranging
much of the two books, including the chief arguments, is humor to revulsion, with multiple interpretive possibilities
the same, there are many small differences in the discus including the ridicule of lower-status groups. The second
sions. The English version will be the standard for the volume begins with an illuminating essay by Tanaka Y?ko
West, but the Japanese version has virtues beyond the on prints with or nozoki. Hayakawa
dealing voyeurism,
index and characters. In some areas there ismore detail in Monta, after noting that the of women
majority portrayed
the Japanese, including the use of technical terms and con in
shunga
are not courtesans, initiates an examination of
siderations that may have been dropped from the English jionna, women other than sex workers who are portrayed
by editors worried about reaching a wider audience. The as actively seeking sexual
experiences.The second volume
Japanese version employs several period appellations for concludes with an essay by Saeki Junko on the relation of
Kyoto, including Ky? and Ky?raku, while the English ver shunga and y??jo. Once again taking issue with Screech's
sion consistently employs the legitimate, yet comparative interpretation of waraie and the labeling of shunga as
ly obscure, Keishi, which may puzzle readers who miss the pornography, Saeki explores depictions of sex workers in
first-use footnote. On occasion a passage that is clear in a variety of periods and circumstances. the
Although essays
Japanese is harder to follow in English. For example, in the in these volumes our comprehension of the
deepen
above discussion of Harunobu's Autumn Moon of theMirror themes reviewed, their intention is to raise interpretative
Stand (Fig. 2), repeated reference is made to a flowering questions that complicate and diversify our understanding
potted plant called "a rock bamboo" (iwatake) (p. 136).64 A of the material rather than reductively produce simple
look at this discussion in the Japanese version (p. 105) principles of interpretation.
quickly reveals this plant to be the sekichiku. Literally trans Hayakawa Monta has been especially productive in sev
lated, this can be called the poetic "stone bamboo," yet eral interesting small volumes that explore the shunga that
sekichiku is actually Dianthus chinensis, ? close relative of the portray love between men and the mitate shunga of
nadeshiko more translated as Harunobu.65 The least explored
(Dianthus superbus), commonly topic he has addressed is
pinks. As the rendering of many Japanese titles and names the appearance of children in shunga, in his Shunga noNaka
is vexing to everyone who attempts it, direct access to the no Kodomotachi of 2000. The recent belated interest in
terms in Japanese is often helpful. One can now hope, of children in Ukiyo-e has resulted in a book
depictions
with the advance of word systems, that it will and an exhibition and, most
processing catalogue recently, in the
become standard for scholarly publications in theWest to Tokyo National Museum's exhibition on representations of
include characters for significant names and terms. That children in art,66 but Hayakawa is the first to consolidate
Screech has frequently published bilingually is admirable; the diverse images of this well-known but little discussed
however, the differences between the resulting versions theme. quite tentative in his conclusions,
Although
have yet to be widely appreciated, as scholars have tended Hayakawa suggests that children appear in the context of
to read the publications only in their native tongue. humorous themes, as witnesses rather than and
participants,
A variety of valuable publications have appeared in proposes that the circumstances of the period may have
Japan since the appearance of Screech's twin volumes on
generated a less absolute attitude toward concealment of
shunga. The most significant may be the two volumes of sexual activities from one's children. The question of what
essays, Ukiyoe Shunga 0 Yomu, by Shirakura Yoshihiko, constitutes childhood is raised by the depiction of people
Tanaka Y?ko, Hayakawa Monta, Mihashi Osamu, and from their early teens in sexual activities. Hayakawa inter
Saeki Junko, which appeared late in 2000. Each of the prets this in the context of marriages that were then con
eight essays explores in depth specific questions concern summated at such ages. That sex workers also began their
ing shunga. The first essay by Shirakura is framed as a crit employment in their teens compares with the use of chil
ical response to Screech's assertions that shunga prints con dren in mines and heavy industry, aworldwide practice in
stitute pornography whose prime motive is aiding male the nineteenth century. The nature and duration of child
masturbation; Shirakura argues for a more multifaceted hood was as often determined economics and class as by
by
approach that takes better account of the cultural context ethical concerns. Although his work is introductory in
of the time of production. Tanaka Y?ko focuses on the nature and rarely employs self-conscious
theory, Hayakawa
topic of what is hidden and what is displayed in shunga continues to be in the forefront of addressing neglected and
imagery. This deceptively simple question reveals a fasci controversial areas of shunga imagery and texts.
as she traces the
nating development historical changes in The widespread recognition that reading the texts
presentation through noted examples from the late seven accompanying shunga is critical to their interpretation has

17
been met with two new dictionaries of the frequently eso study, so that students now need to master multiple fields
teric vocabulary employed. Although neither has all the in less time than was previously allowed for one field. If
scholarly apparatus one would desire, both are serious this standard holds for dissertations, it holds even more
efforts to provide access to the needed vocabulary. Shibata firmly for the subsequent books necessary for acquiring
Chiaki's Seigo fiten covers historical terms to contempo and developing professional standing. Some institutions
now expect two books to be completed for tenure in the
rary usage, frequently quoting passages from dated publi
cations as examples of use. Komatsu Keibun's Iro nofiten is time previously allowed for one. In this push-comes-to
the larger and more with some entries shove environment the pressure to strategically choose
scholarly work,
brief essays on the historical evolution of small topics that can be completed swiftly is almost over
comprising
usage patterns. Employing these dictionaries in reading whelming. Despite the claims for quality, it is quantity and
the texts set in modern type greatly streamlines the inter timeliness that are being rewarded.
pretative process, although comparing different modern One of the swiftest avenues for producing text is to apply

type versions of the same text sometimes reveals that the amethodology from another discipline or a different geo
a new body of material.
ambiguities of the original cursive scripts can give rise to graphic or cultural area to If
variations of even now. or theory can be regarded as a kind of
significant interpretation methodology
Beyond the problems of interpretation, one of the grammar, then the new material can be inserted into this

biggest obstacles in assessing shunga is lack of access to the grammar and a new interpretive text be generated rather
wide range of materials that have not been in This practice is not without pitfalls, however, a
reprinted rapidly.
modern times. In this regard, it is significant to note that major instance being the tailoring of the result to merely
the late Hayashi Yoshikazu bequeathed his collection of confirm the validity of the method. Well-deployed method
fifteen thousand items to the Art Research Center of does not consolidate new materials into the presupposi
Ritsumeikan in Kyoto. The center is now con tions the method
of (the everything-new-is-old-again
Daigaku
to place the entire approach), but rather generates whole new vistas that allow
serving the items and hopes eventually
collection of images and texts on their Internet site. for the discovery of genuinely original perceptions.
Although this is a mammoth project that will take years, Discussions of method and theory are of late popularly
possibly decades, to complete, they held their first exhibi presented
as various versions of the "new" versus "old" art

tion of 114 items in November 2001 and the initial offer history68 Thisdualistic view may be counterproductive.

ings
can now be accessed at their site.67 Now that art Any assertion, no matter how matter of fact, involves
museums have grown increasingly comfortable with dis unspoken theoretical assumptions. Likewise, all art-histor
imagery, such as the shunga that appeared ical theory at some point relies on information of some
playing explicit
as a part of the fall 2001 special exhibition Hyuuman sort, whether it be the existence of an art work or the
Imeeji
(Human Image) at the Kyoto National Museum, we can interpretation of a historical text, either of which requires
that of access to the large collections in assessment and confirmation. Ultimately it is the interac
hope problems
public institutions will gradually be reduced.
tion of information (including sensory input) and inter
In this article I have dwelt at length on aspects of pretation (theory) that generates meaning, and the strug
Screech's work with which I take issue because of the gle for higher ground between "new and old" impedes the
range of the international response to the interpretations development of a productive synergism.
he has proposed. The wealth of Screech's anecdotal detail Given that theoretical considerations as such have been
the reader to an impressive variety of a rather late entry into the realm of Japanese art history,
engagingly guides
texts, though the quick treatment of the ency discussion of them has often been unproductively vague,
Edo-period
lopedic range of topics and references often makes one for instance, someone may be said to "do" theory, making
wish the author would slow down to achieve greater it unclear if the person in question is discussing theory,
depth. Nonetheless, the whirlwind movement from idea employing theory (in the sense of methodology), or, rarest
to image to citation has the exhilarating of a well of all, creating theory. Sometimes people merely use the
punch
delivered lecture. Indeed, the smooth flow of the text terminology of theory without any clear conception of
combined with his insistent wordplay makes for what are It is when an art
lively they saying. always disquieting
even of complex material. historical text employs terminology of current theory but
reading
the contradictions in the academic world neither footnotes, nor skill in usage indicate
Among today bibliography,
the texts that generated or significantly
is the confrontation between expanding expectations and familiarity with
shrinking timetables. As the recognition of interdiscipli deployed that theoretical approach. This practice is exacer
nary perspectives has grown, the assumption that disserta bated by the growing time pressures within academia that
tions employ multiple methodologies, or at least display an are reinforced by quantitative demands for publication.
understanding of them, flies in the face of many efforts by The appearance of "doing" theory can be quickly created,
university programs to shorten the classwork for graduate but to sensitively and productively employ theory requires

i8
 a clear understanding of the conceptual framework, which Fukuda Kazuhiko. Edo no Shiki. Tokyo: Kawade
Ukiyo-e:
mandates extensive reading and thought. Furthermore, Shob? Shinsha,i987.
despite assumptions that theory can be culturally neutral _. Edo no Seiaigaku.Tokyo: Kawade Shob? Shinsha, 1988.
and equally applicable with little adjustment around the _. Nikuhitsu F??zoku Emaki. Tokyo: Kawade Shob?
globe, theory is always a product of the culture in which Shinsha, 1988.
it arises. To productively transfer it to a different cultural _. Oedo: Ukiyo-e no Haru. Tokyo: KK Besutoseraazu,
context requires both care and extensive knowledge of 1989.
that other culture. This being the case, one hopes that at _. Ehon Ukiyo-e Sen. Tokyo: Kawade Shob? Shinsha,
some point art-historical theory can be generated from 1990.
within the Japanese cultural context?not as a kind of _. Enshoku Ukiyo-e no Onna. Tokyo: Kawade Shob?
neo-nihonjinron but as part of an approach to the culture Shinsha, 1990.
and art that is less screened through aWestern intellectual _. Enshoku Genji-e. Tokyo: KK Besutoseraazu, 1991.
filter. This is part of the larger need to develop art-histor _. F??zoku Ehon Ukiyo-e. Tokyo: Kawade Shob?
ical methodologies of such significance that other disci Shinsha, 1991.
plines find them fruitful to employ, much as art historians _, ed. Nihon no Seikimatsu. Tokyo: Yomiuri
now enlist the methodologies of other disciplines for their Shinbunsha, 1987.
applicability to art history. In fact, the relation of sexuali _, ed. Ukiyo-e Giga.Tokyo: Kawade Shob? Shinsha, 1992.
ty, vision, image, and text in shunga may be one productive
area for the generation of new theory in the future. Hanasaki Kazuo. Edo Baishoku Hyaku Sugata. Tokyo:
That I have raised questions in regard to Screech's text Sanbon Shob?, 1980.
does not diminish my appreciation for its significance. I _. Senry??EdoYoshiwara Zue.Tokyo: Sanbon Shob?, 1992.
am confident that others will likewise argue points of this _, Yamaguchi Masao, Nakano Mitsutoshi, Asakawa
discussion. Indeed, what is not needed is a struggle to Seiichir?, and Nobuhiro Shinji. "Shunga Bunka." Bungaku,
establish a correct, yet hegemonic, approach to issues of vol. 10 (no. 3) (1999), pp. 2-20.
sexuality and gender. Few areas of study are more likely to
produce a spectrum of insights arising from an equally Hayakawa Monta. Ukiyo-e Shunga to Nanshoku. Tokyo:
diverse array of subject positions and critical perspectives. Kawade Shob? Shinsha, 1998.
As these issues have been so long ignored by much of the _. Shunga no Naka Kodomotachi: Edo Shomin no Sei
academic world (even the current activity often seems a Ishiki.Tokyo: Kawade Shob? Shinsha, 2000.
tardy reaction to developments in popular culture), what _. The Shunga of Suzuki Harunobu: Mitate-e and
ismost needed is frank discussion with the expectation of Sexuality in Edo. Kyoto: International Research Center for
finding not consensus but diversity, and careful attention Japanese Studies, 2001.
to each voice, especially if it is different from one's own.
Tolerance of discourse may seem a
commonplace
nowa
HayashiYoshikazu and Richard Lane, eds. Kory??sai (Shikid?
days, yet nowhere is itmore important than in these top Tokkumi f??ni-tsugui!Teihon Ukiyo-e Shunga Meihin
ics that reach so deeply into our emotional, ethical, pub Sh?sei, vol. 3.Tokyo: Kawade Shob? Shinsha, 1996.
lic, and private lives. _. Higa Emaki 'Koshibagaki Sushi! Teihon Ukiyo-e
Shunga Meihin Sh?sei, vol. 17. Tokyo: Kawade Shob?
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"
Aketa, Tetsuo. Nihon Kagai Shi. Tokyo:Y?sankaku, 1990. Hockley, Allen. "Shunga: Function, Context, Methodology
Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 55 (Summer 2000), pp.
Allison, Anne. Permitted & Prohibited Desires: Mothers, 257-69.
Comics, and Censorship infapan. Boulder: Westview Press,
1996. Hunt, Lynn, ed. The Invention of Pornography: Obscenity and
the Origins of Modernity, 1500-1800. New York: Zone
Butler judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Books, 1993.
Identity. New York and London: Routledge, 1990.
Juffer, Jane. At Home with Pornography: Women, Sex, and
Dollimore, Jonathan. Sex, Literature and Censorship. Everyday Life. New York and London: New York
Cambridge: Polity Press, 2001. University Press, 1998.

Fujisawa Morihiko, ed. Nihon Sei F??zokushi. Tokyo: Kameda Tsutomu et al.Men to Sh?z?. Genshoku Nihon
Y?sankaku, 1963. no Bijutsu, vol. 23.Tokyo: Shogakkan, 1971.

19
 Kempadoo, Kamala and Jo Doezema, eds. Global Sex _. "Review of Timon Screech's Sex and the Floating
Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition. New York and World."fournal offap??ese Studies, vol. 26 (Summer 2000),
London: Routledge, 1998. pp. 419-22.

Kipnis, Laura. Bound and Gagged: Pornography and thePolitics of Screech,Tim?n. "Edo o Miru, Edo o Kiru." Yuriika: Shi to
Fantasy inAmerica. Durham: Duke University Press, 1999. Hihyo, vol. 33 (no. 1) (January 2001), pp. 169-77.
_. Sex and the Floating World: Erotic Images in fapan
Komatsu Keibun, ed. Iro no fiten (Kaiteiban). Tokyo: 1700-1820. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999.
Bungeisha,
2000. _. Shunga: Katate de Yomu Edo no E.Translated by
Takayama Hiroshi. Tokyo: K?dansha, 1998.
Koyano Atsushi. Edo Gens? Hihan: Edo no SeiaV Raisanron
0 Utsu.Tokyo: Shiny?sha, 1999. Seigle, Cecelia Segawa. Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the
f ap??ese Courtesan. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1993.
Kumon Kodomo Kenky?jo, ed. Ukiyo-e ni Miru Edo no
Kodomotachi. Tokyo: Sh?gakkan, 2000. Shibata Chiaki, ed. Seigo fiten. Tokyo: Kawade Shob?
_. Ukiyo-e no Kodomotachi: Kikoku Ten Zuroku.Tokyo: Shinsha, 1998.
Kumon Kodomo Kenky?jo, 2000.
Shirakura Yoshihiko, Tanaka Y?ko, Hayakawa Monta,
Kyoto Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, ed. Tokubetsu Tenrankai: Mihashi Osamu, Saeki Junko. Ukiyo-e Shunga 0 Yomu.
Huuman Imeeji.Kyoto: Kyoto Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 2001. Tokyo: Ch?? K?ronsha, 2000.

Lane, Richard. Edo no Ham: Ih?jin Mankai.Tokyo: Kawade Stevenson, John. Yoshitoshi's Women: The Woodblock-print Series
Shob? Shinsha, 1998. F??zoku SanpnisU.'Seattle: University ofWashington Press, 1995.

Leupp, Gary. Male Colors: The Construction ofHomosexuality in Takahashi Seiichir?. Traditional Woodblock Prints of fapan.
of California Press, 1995. New York :
and Tokyo Weatherhill/Heibonsha, 1972.
Tokugawafapan. Berkeley: University

Munslow, Alun. History. London and New Takahashi Y?ji, ed. Tsutaya f??zabur? no Shigoto. Bessatsu
Deconstructing
York: Routledge, 1997. Taiy? 89 (Spring 1995).

Nakano Eiz?. Kuruwa no Seikatsu: Z?ho Shinban. Takayama Hiroshi. Edo no Kiriguchi.Tokyo: Maruzen, 1994.
Seikatsushi S?sho, vol. 15.Tokyo:Y?sankaku, 1976.
Tanaka Y?ko. Harigata: Edo Onna no Sei. Tokyo: Kawade
Nanda, Serena. Neither Men norWomen: The Hijras of India. Shob? Shinsha, 1999.
Second edition. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing
1998. Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, ed. Bijutsu no Naka no
Company,
Kodomotachi. Tokyo: Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 2001.
Narazaki Muneshige, ed. Hizo Ukiyo-e Taikan. 13 vols.
Tokyo: K?dansha, 1988-90. Udo Yoshihiko, ed. Edo Meisaku Ehon 5: Katsushika
Hokusai (Kinoe no Komatsu.' Tokyo: Gakken, 1996.
Nihon Aato Sentaa, ed. Harunobu. Meihin Senbutsu
Ukiyo-e, vol. 1.Tokyo: Gy?sei, 1991. Ueno Chizuko, Tanaka Y?ko, Junko, and Sumie
Saeki
Jones. "(Zadankai) Shunpon Shunga no Kenky?
/ no
Fates: Sex, Gender and Rinkai." Bungaku,vo\. 10 (no. 3) (1999), pp. 115-41.
Pflugfelder, Gregory. "Strange
Sexuality in Torikaebaya Monogatari." Monumenta
Nipponica, vol. 47 (Autumn 1992), pp. 347-68. Williams, Linda. Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the Frenzy
_. Cartographies of Desire: Male-Male Sexuality in of theVisible! Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
fap??ese Discourse, 1600-1950. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1999. Yamane Y?z? et al. F?zokuga to Ukiyoeshi. Genshoku
Nihon no Bijutsu, vol. 24. Tokyo: Sh?gakkan, 1971.
Sat?Y?jin. Edo Mizujaya F??zoku K?.Tokyo: Migi Shob?, 1993.
Yoshizawa Yoshiho and Nakata Y?jir?. Sh?rai Bijutsu
"Review - Genshoku Nihon no Bijutsu, vol. 29. Tokyo:
Schalow, Paul. of Gary Leupp's Male Colors." (Kaiga Sho).
fournal off ap??ese Studies, vol. 23 (1997), pp.196?201. Sh?gakkan, 1967.

20
 ularity to the advertising nature of these handbill-like prints. The New
Notes Year's finery in which the noted are shown lends the images a
yujo
"fashion awareness
that has of their advertising
plate" quality eclipsed
i. Among recent are "Sexuality import. See the Kory?sai
examples in Narazaki, ed., Hizo Ukiyo-e
the many discussions and Edo
Taikan, vol. 6, pis. 78?84 and commentary on pp. 239?41. Kagema refers
Culture 1750-1850," Indiana University, 1995; "Gender and Power in
to males who enact female gender roles in the social environment of
the Japanese Visual Field," annual meeting, Association of Asian Studies,
in Bungaku, vol. the Kabuki theaters.
Honolulu, 1996; and the group discussions presented
10 (no. 3) (Summer 17. Hanasaki Kazuo describes in detail several dozen locations in
1999).
was an index, par Yoshiwara containing sex businesses that catered to a wide range of
2. As Sex in the Floating World published without
enthetical numbers have been to quotations for ease of income levels; see his Edo Baishoku Hyakusugata, passim. The third
page appended
chapter of Aketa Tetsuo's Nihon Kagai-shi similarly details the many
reference.
locations where sex workers of many ranks operat
3. Paul Schalow, "Review of Timon Screech's Sex and the Floating throughout Kyoto
ed during the kinsei period.
World" Journal ofJapanese Studies, vol. 26 (Summer 2000) p. 420.
18. Seigle, Yoshiwara :The Glittering World of theJapanese Courtesan, p. 153.
4. Allen Hockley, "Shunga: Function, Context, Methodology,"
19. include an
image from Utagawa Kuniyoshi's
Monumenta Nipponica, vol.55 (Summer 2000) p. 263. Examples
of various (1797-1861) 1831 Oeyama of a man being shown shunpon and an erot
5. See Alun Munslow's description and critique positions
on the writing ic handscroll a of who are to reinvigorate his
of history in his Deconstructing History. by variety y??jo attempting
6.While desire while the man reclines on a sumidan altar surrounded by copu
granting points of similarity between Western pornography
lating animals in a parody of a nehan scene (Fukuda, Ukiyo-e Giga, pi.
and shunga, Sumie Jones and Saeki Junko question the validity of the
label for shunga in Ueno Chizuko et al., "(Zadankai) 112). Utagawa Kunitora's Zoku: Iro no Hakidame (ca. 1830-1843) offers
porn Shunpon
a scene of a man a volume of a shunpon set while in
Shunga no Kenky? no Rinkai," Bungaku, vol. 10 (no. 3) (1999), pp. 1 i8ff. opening engaged
on this intercourse with a y??jo as he that his orgasm has a special
7. Although Hockley agrees with Screech point (Hockley, explains
criticizes dismissal of (kakubetsu) quality if it occurs while he is viewing shunga (Fukuda,
"Shunga," pp. 257-58), Saeki Junko Screech's
Oedo: Ukiyo-e no Ham,
these other situating
explanations, this dismissal with
neglectScreech's pi. 15).
20. The location of his shop, which handled the works of Utamaro
of the ethnographicbackground of Edo-period popular culture and
ver and Sharaku among others, is found in maps of the area; see the illus
religious practice necessary for interpreting shunga in the Japanese
sion of his text. See Ueno et al., "(Zadankai) tration from the 1783 Yoshiwara Saiken in Takahashi Y?ji, ed., Tsutaya
Chizuko Shunpon
no p. 11. Screech notes the shop location in the
Shunga no Kenky? no Rinkai," pp. 122-23. J??zabur? Shigoto,
8. In the earlier Japanese version Screech allowed that men might Japanese version of his text, p. 36.
21. Although most discussions assume a dual system, amulti
have purchased shunga and shunpon at Tsutaya's print shop on their way gender
home in the morning from a night atYoshiwara gender system has been proposed for some cultures. Serena Nanda has
(p. 36).
a similar the notion of additional in Neither Men nor
9. Paul Schalow makes critique of a substitutional model in proposed gender categories
his review of Gary Leupp's Male Women: The Hijras of India. Judith Butler suggests that "gender is a kind
Colors, Journal of Japanese Studies, vol.
of action that can potentially proliferate beyond the binary limits
23 (1997), pp. 196-201.
10. See Tanaka,
Harigata, pp. 18?19. imposed by the apparent binary of sex" (Gender Trouble, p. 112).
11. Nakano to Ehon ni 22. Monumenta vol. XL VII, pp. 347-68.
Eiz? lists thirty-four such terms in his "Higa Nipponica,
23. See, for the section on "Anatomical Difference," pp.
tsuite," in Fujisawa, Nihon Sei Fuzokushi, p. 492. example,
12. See Nakano, to Ehon ni tsuite," pp. 488-90. Nakano con 94-100.
"Higa
siders that warai was also employed in the sense of "unusual" 24. Instances include pp. 84?86 and 94?95.
(okashii).
13. See the term baisho in Morohashi et al., Kokanwajiten, 4 25. Butler, Gender Trouble, p. 140.
Tetsuji
vols. 26. Kagema, although nominally young actors" standing
(Tokyo: Daish?kan Shoten, 1982), vol. 1, under character 2934. "apprentice
of absurd humor include the size in in the shadows of the Kabuki theatre waiting for a chance to appear on
14. Examples disparity
Utamaro's "Hobashira maru" (ca. 1802, see Hayakawa, stage, were largely employed for professional sexual encounters by spe
Ukiyo-e Shunga
to Nanshoku, scene in Hokusai's no Komatsu cial teahouses called kagemajaya. See Pflugfelder, of Desire,
pi. 68); the 1814 Kinoe Cartographies
where a woman inscribes her partner's erection with a brush pp. 119?20. Screech employs this term in his Japanese version (p. 208),
writing
Edo Meisaku Ehon but not in the English.
(Udo, ed., 5, first kan, fourth illustration); and
to Nakano area dressed as
Utagawa Kuniyoshi's (1797-1861) sexual parody of a nehan scene in his 27. According Eiz?, kagema in the Kansai
women to entertain female customers and as wakash?? to entertain male
1831 Oeyama (Fukuda, Ukiyo-e Giga, pi. 112). An extensive collection of
toYoshiwara customers; see Fujisawa, ed., Nihon Sei F??zokushi, p. 592. Nishiyama
senry? related is provided by Hanasaki Kazuo's Senryi? Edo
Yoshiwara Zue. Matsunosuke cites a passage from Hiraga Gennai's F??ry?? Shid?ken Den
15. Tanaka Y?ko and Sumie Jones make a similar of plus various senry?? verses as evidence for the employment of kagema by
critique
as presented female customers; see Fujisawa, ed., Nihon Sei F??zokushi, p. 444.
Screech's position in the Japanese version of his book; they
stress the fundamental importance of humor and parody to the shunga 28. Narazaki, Hizo Ukiyo-e Taikan, vol. 4, pi. 122.
in Ueno et al., "(Zadankai) no no 29. See the references to kagema onna in
genre Shunpon Shunga Kenky? Pflugfelder, Cartographies of
Rinkai," pp. 118-19. Desire, p. 119, n. 57.
16. For instance see the named in Ch?bunsai Eishi's 30. Although the motives for this interest may have been quite dif
yujo
Seir? Bijin Rokkasen ferent during the Edo period, in contemporary Japan manga oriented
(1756-1829) (Six Flower Immortals Among the
Yoshiwara's ca. 1795-1796), some of whom in the con toward young female readers frequently portray male figures with
Beauties, figure
see Narazaki, female gender markers, how widespread such an interest can
temporary Yoshiwara Saiken guides; ed., Hizo Ukiyo-e showing
on p. 234. become.
Taikan, vol. 7, pi. 75 and commentary Examples by Utamaro
artists are plentiful. 31. Screech discusses this print on pp. 132-34 and 210.
and other The longest-running series, over 140
was 32. Nait?'s comments can be found on p. 147 of Harunobu, vol. 1 of
prints (dating 1775-1781), Hinagata Wakana Hatsumoy?, initiated by
Nihon Aato Sentaa, ed., Meihin Senbutsu Ukiyo-e. This volume's full-size
Isoda Kory?sai (act. ca. 1764-178 8) and continued by Torii Kiyonaga
color of the print (plate 85) reveals that the obi is differ
(1752-1815) and Katsukawa Shunzan (act. ca. 1782-1798). This series, reproduction
which named the depicted owed its ongoing ent in color and fabric pattern from the blanket that covers his legs.
clearly figures, likely pop

21
 3 3-The difficult task of determining the historical origins of this term pp. 19?23. The poverty of Hokusai and Hiroshige, notwithstanding
in Japan and the possible in over time is not attempt their tremendous is highlighted
changes meaning output, by Takahashi.
ed. The problems, including Chinese usage and the way this term was 49. See the tattooing image that is the third print in Yoshitoshi's
used interchangeably with a large number of equivalent words, are such F??zoku Sanj??nis? in Stevenson, Yoshitoshi's Women, p. 32.
that a thorough investigation might become a book in itself. 50. See the introduction and the first of Gregory
chapter
ed., Nikuhitsu F??zoku Emaki, and Lane, s
34. Fukuda, p. 136; Hayashi Pflugfelder Cartographies of Desire.
eds., Koshibagaki S?shi, figs. 10-12; and Fujisawa, ed., Nihon Sei 51. Kempadoo and Doezema, eds.. Global Sex Workers: Rights,
F??zokushi, p. 51. Sections of a late are found in Resistance, and Redefinition,
Edo-period copy p. 3.
Fukuda, ed., Nikuhitsu
F??zoku Emaki, pis. 109-12. 52. Bindman, "An International Perspective on in the Sex
Slavery
3 5. Examples of Toba-e handscrolls from the last several centuries are in ibid., pp. 65-66.
Industry,"
illustrated in Fukuda, ed., Nikuhitsu F??zoku Emaki, pp. 136-60, and in 53. The architectural of the Sumiya of the Shimabara in
splendor
Fukuda's Ukiyo-e Giga, pp. 6-47. Kyoto and the Kagetsu of the Maruyama area in like the
Nagasaki,
^6. Hayashi and Lane, eds., Koshibagaki S?shi, figs. 21-23 and p. 20. finest of the surviving kimonos and hair ornaments, equal or surpass the
Other are discussed most
early traditions of handscrolls with sexual themes extravagant settings in the Ukiyo-e treatment of interiors of the
in the same volume, pp.17?21. licensed quarters.
are few; see
37. Illustrations of this early version fig. 15 in Hayashi 54.
Screech, Shunga, p. 4, taken from quotation found in Joan
and Lane, eds., Koshibagaki S?shi, and Fujisawa, ed., Nihon Sei DeJean, "The Politics of Pornography," in The Invention of Pornography,
F??zokushi, p. 57. ed. Lynn Hunt, p. no. Screech repeatedly refers to the same quotation
38. See the 1828 version in Hayashi and Lane, eds., Koshibagaki S?shi, in Sex and the Floating World, pp.37, 39, 88.
passim. Although Lane attributes this version to an unidentified 55. Among numerous are: a solitary woman in bed look
examples
Sumiyoshi-school painter (ibid., p. 52), the ka? signature clearly reads at a in Utagawa Kunisada's (1786-1864) Shunshoku no
ing shunpon Neya
Bun'y?, the signature of Tozaka Bun'y? (1783-1852), an Edo artist Koto (1847) (Fukuda, ed. Nihon no Seikimatsu, p. 58); a couple having
skilled in Yamato-e style painting. Bun'y? studied with Tani Bunch? intercourse in a position similar to that seen in an open shunpon on
(1763-1840), which accords with the Bunch?-style calligraphy in the their bed, from Kitagawa Tsukimaro's twelve-print set Azuma Otoko ni
characters for the date. in Fukuda, Ukiyo-e:Edo no Shiki, a
Ky?jor? (ca. 1804-1817) pi. 84; and
39. Fukuda, F??zoku Ehon Ukiyo-e, pi. 36. couple looking at a shunpon while discussing Santo in
Ky?den
40. Fukuda, Ehon Ukiyo-e Sen, pi. 186. Kikugawa Eizan's (1787-1867) Nise Monogatari (ca. 1804-1817) in
no Onna,
41. Fukuda, Enshoku Ukiyo-e pi. 78. Fukuda, F??zoku Ehon Ukiyo-e, pi. 188 .Also see n. 16 above.
42. Fukuda, F??zoku Ehon Ukiyo-e, pis. 147?48. 56. Seigle, Yoshiwara, p. 156.
43. This print from Utamaro's noted Uta Makura album is much 57. Tanaka, Harigata, passim.
Richard Lane, Edo no Ham: 58. Studies that develop various new toward
reproduced, including Ih?jin Mankai, pp. viewpoints sexually
H-I5 explicit materials in the West include Williams, Hard Core: Power,
of interpretation even
44. Thecomplexity generated by similar, often Pleasure, and the 'Frenzy of the Visible'; Kipnis, Bound and Gagged:
more extreme, mixtures of sex and violence in contemporary and the Politics of Fantasy inAmerica; and Juffer,^4i Home with
Japanese Pornography
manga (comics) reveals how difficult this meaningful and important Pornography: Women, Sex, and Everyday Life.
can
topic be. See chapter three, "Cartooning Erotics: Japanese Ero 59. See esp. Ueno et al., "(Zadankai) Shunpon Shunga no Kenky?
in Anne Allison, Permitted & Prohibited Desires. Both no Rinkai," pp. 130-32, for discussion of the topic of female viewpoint.
Manga," Hockley
and Schalow question the accuracy of Screech's discussion of violence 60.Tanaka, Harigata, pp. 17-18, 84.
in shunga in their reviews of his work. 61. Ueno et al., "(Zadankai) no Kenky? no
Shunpon Shunga
45. Surviving from which the woodblocks were carved Rinkai," passim. Their has been criticized for an overly ideal
drawings position
reveal that sometimes the artists completed the primary outlines and ized view of Edo-period culture by Koyano Atsushi in his Edo Gens?
left fabric designs up to the carvers. Hihan, pp. 34-68, but the intemperance of Koyano's exaggerated com
In most of the ments his own critique.
46. large numbers of Song-period Buddhist portrait effectively undercuts

paintings that were imported into Japan, fabric patterns carefully fol 62. Bungaku, vol. 10 (1999) published a discussion of shunga by male
lowed the folds of the drapery (see the Southern Song Portrait ofTiantai scholars, who mention with laughter a university class that excluded female
Dashi Sixun inYonezawa and Nakata, Sh?rai Bijutsu, students during an examination of shunga; see Hanasaki Kazuo et al.,
by Zhang pi. 81).
Japanese artists either followed that example in works such as the 1221 "Shunga Bunka," Bungaku, vol.
10 (no. 3) (1999), p. 10.
Comparison of this
Portrait of Go-Toba Tenn? (KamedaTsutomu et al., Men to Sh?z?, pi. 41), male panel discussion with the female discussion in Ueno et al. is quite
or ignored it by maintaining the fabric pattern unbroken across the for the differences in the topics and tone of the comments.
illuminating
folds, as in the 1334 Portrait Kokushi (ibid., 63. Edo no Kiriguchi, 1994. A recent computer search at Maruzen
drapery ofDait? pi. 57).The
casual alternation of these approaches continued the Edo peri bookstore revealed an astounding
seventy-one that he has
through publications
od; the plaid-like on the far-right woman in the seventeenth written, co-authored, translated, or edited. The of
pattern importance
century painting Yuna is a striking example of an unmodulated fabric Takayama's contribution is discussed by Ueno Chizuko and Sumie
on a figure et al., to in Ueno Chizuko et al., "(Zadankai) no
design (YamaneY?z? F??zokuga Ukiyoeshi, pi. 14). Jones Shunpon Shunga
works and Utamaro show masterful conformation no Rinkai," p. 120.
Many by Harunobu Kenky?
of fabric patterns to folds. On the other hand, Isoda Kory?sai's Shikid? 64. Later called a "'rock' bamboo" (p. 154).
Tokkumi J??ni-tsugui (ca. 1777) shows a nearly consistent application of 65. See his Ukiyo-e Shunga toNanshoku and The Shunga of Suzuki
"flat" patterns over folds (Hayashi and Lane, ed., Isoda Kory??sai's Shikid? Harunobu: Mitate-e and Sexuality in Edo.
Tokkumi J??ni-tsugui'', some of the many in 66. See Kumon Kodomo ed., Ukiyo-e ni Mim Edo no
passim). Finally, images Kenky?jo,
Katsushika Hokusai's 1814 Kinoe no Komatsu move from Kodomotachi and their Ukiyo-e no Kodomotachi: Kikoku Ten Zuroku. In
unpredictably
modulated to unmodulated fabric ed., Edo Meisaku addition, see the section in the Tokyo National Museum cata
patterns (Udo, print
no Naka no Kodomotachi.
Ehon, vol. 5, passim). logue of 2001, Bijutsu
47. Fukuda, Edo no Seiaigaku, ill. 2. 67. See http://www.arc.ritsumei.ac.jp/theater/biiti/
48. See Takahashi Seiichir?'s discussion of the minimal remuneration 68. Alan s review of Screech's work presents some of these
Hockley
of Edo-period Ukiyo-e artists in his Traditional Woodblock Prints ofJapan, arguments.

22