Picture of Spring

Picture of Spring 2023

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When a bored cafe worker starts learning about erotic prints from a widowed shunga researcher, she gets drawn into a world free of inhibitions.

2023

Shunga: The Lost Japanese Erotica

Shunga: The Lost Japanese Erotica 2023

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In the foundation of the culture of Japanese MANGA and animation, there lies the humor filled art form, shunga. Shunga is a type of Japanese art by famous ukiyo-e artists of the Edo Period, such as Utamaro, Hokusai, and Kiyonaga, but the artform’s development was thwarted by social norms that tabooed sex. The film Introduces the world of shunga through enthusiasts - collectors, curators, and scholars, including Andrew Gerstle who inspired The British Museum’s historical shunga exhibition in 2013 and Michael Fornitz who owns an auction house in Denmark. Exploring the significance of shunga by analyzing it from historical, cultural, artistic and contemporary female points of view.

2023