Stories, terms and extracts of illustrated scrolls, known as pillow books, that reflect the atmosphere of Shunga or Japanese eroticism.

This sumptous guide explains the cultural forces behind Shunga images and why the Japanese find them so erotic. It also reveals the influence of Shunga on great Western art movements such as Impressionism. Exquisitely and abundantly illustrated, this is the most comprehensively informative book ever to be written on the subject - truly a masterclass'.'

This publication offers the reader a ravishing selection of erotic prints ("shunga") by the first full-color woodblock-print masters: Suzuki Harunobu (c. 1725-70) and Isoda Kory{sai (act. c. 1764-88). It is based on a private collection of prints of remarkable quality, their radiant colors perfectly preserved by the albums in which they were kept. The first volume in a popular series on erotic prints by famous Japanese woodblock-print artists, this book contains a detailed general introduction to the genre of "shunga." In addition to a description of the historical and cultural settings of the prints, it focuses in particular on the locations and interiors where the erotic action takes place.

In early modern Japan, thousands of sexually explicit paintings, prints, and illustrated books with texts were produced, euphemistically called spring pictures (shunga). Frequently tender, funny and beautiful, shunga were mostly done within the popular school known as pictures of the floating world (ukiyo-e), by celebrated artists such as Utamaro and Hokusai. Erotic Japanese art was heavily suppressed in Japan from the 1870s, and as a result it has only been made possible to publish unexpurgated examples in Japan within the last 20 years. This publication presents this fascinating art in its historical and cultural context, drawing on the latest scholarship and featuring over 400 images of works from major public and private collections.

In a series of 24 full-color drawings satirical cartoonist Matthew Martin captures of the essence of Modern Shunga, and updates it with witty and often unlikely cultural and artistic references. Modern Shunga is perfect gift for lovers of, well, high-class dirty pictures. The project began when Martin, a well known Australian cartoonist and illustrator, was asked by a friend to paint the identifying icons on the mens and ladies room doors in a new, upscale Japanese restaurant outside of Sydney. After countless and generally inappropriate attempts, Martin rekindled his great admiration for shunga, and developed the series of drawings in this book. The works were exhibited at a distinguished Sydney gallery to rave reviews and the development of a cult following.

Shunga, or images of spring, are erotic depictions from Japans 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, usually achieved with a woodblock print process. Shunga appeared in romance novels and instructive albums for young wives, and were even carried by samurai for luck. This book provides an introduction into the world of shunga with a selection of striking full-color images. Pithy text, including descriptions of the historical and cultural settings of the prints, helps explain what this erotica meant to the people of the time.