One Kind of Japanese Art

Shunga (spring pictures) is the Japanese term for erotic paintings, which were very famous especially in the late 19^th century of Japanese art history. Shunga usually depicts a variety of lovemaking techniques, situations and possibilities, demonstrating the diversity of sexual behaviors, either heterosexual or homosexual. Most of the shunga produced have a common feature of tendency to exaggerate the size of the genital organs. The influence of Western culture started at the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-1912), whereby figures began to appear wearing Western clothing and hairstyles (as shown in the pictures below).