Graphic depictions of enormous phalluses and acrobatic sex positions have long rendered centuries-old Japanese erotic art taboo, but a rare exhibition aims to prove the genre is a world apart from male-centered porn.
Female pleasure instead takes center stage at the "A Moment Interwoven with Culture and 'Wa'" exhibition showcasing around 150 pieces of shunga — an erotic form of ukiyo-e drawings and woodblock prints that flourished in Japan's Edo Period, which began in 1603. But so explicit is the art form in its depictions of nudity, genitals and sex that it was suppressed under Japan's post-shogunate Westernization drive in the late 19th century.
That stigma around shunga lingers more than a century on, with the genre often lumped together with commercial porn that objectifies women.
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