The Reception of Shunga in the Modern Era: From Meiji to the Pre-WWII Years

摘要

Why was it that shunga came to be viewed as a taboo subject in modernJapan even though during the Edo period its production was so popular andwidespread? In this essay I will explore how this change occurred, primarilyby following the trail of newspaper reports on incidents relating to shunga.The Meiji government in an effort to transform Japan from a “premodern”country to a “modern” nation as part of the international community,developed policies to ban various elements of Edo period culture. Shunga anderotic literature was one target of this policy. The enforcement of renewedcensorship edicts began in the early Meiji period, but it was around the timeof the first Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War (c. 1895–1905)that this was done in earnest. From around this time thousands of shungawere confiscated and destroyed. In the Edo period, shunga were often called“laughing pictures” (warai-e), and made for amusing entertainment andpleasure. However, from the modern era it came to be viewed as something“obscene,” “embarrassing” and “forbidden.”Nevertheless, there continued to be those who treasured this heritage,and erotic photographs and picture postcards began to be produced to fill thisvacuum. There were also many who continued to value shunga as importantart and literature. It is now time for us openly to re-examine and re-evaluatethe shunga tradition.