Japan Foundation Fellows Lecture Series II: 
Why Study Shunga? - The Hidden Importance of Japanese Erotic Art by Professor Andrew Gerstle

The number of surviving paintings, books and prints created in Japan from the 16th through the 19th centuries which include explicit scenes of sexual activity is enormous, a production unparalleled in world history. It is, however, not only the quantity that is remarkable but also the artistic quality and the fact that many of the most famous Japanese artists (Moronobu,Hokusai, Utamaro, Kuniyoshi, Sukenobu) produced such works. This talk will introduce aspects of this shunga tradition and argue why it is important that these previously taboo works are no longer hidden away from public view but, rather, studied openly, and with critical eyes.

 

Andrew Gerstle is Professor of Japanese Studies at SOAS, University of London, and Head of the Department of Japan and Korea – he spent a year on a Japan Foundation Fellowship in 2009-10 at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, working on research about Shunga as part of a 3 year project supported by the Leverhulme Trust. This will culminate in a major exhibition at the British Museum in early 2013. As his partner in this project, Timothy Clark will be the discussant for this lecture – he is the Head of the Japanese Section in the Department of Asia at the British Museum.