Erotic Grotesque known as Ero Guro (エログロ) a sub theme of literature and art expressing the ideas of concepts that are malformed, unnatural or horrific in a unrealistic way. Ero Guro began appearing during the Taishō period during the 1920s. During World War II…

The idea of a spirit world in Japan has existed since early literary works and historical texts in Chinese and Japanese. When researching spirits in Japan they exist in many forms and terms; Yōkai (妖怪), Yūrei (幽霊), Obake (お化け), Oni (鬼) and Mononoke (物の怪).…

The Japanese word Shunga (春画) spring picture, shun (春) spring often being described as a euphemism for sex has a more specific meaning when you research the kanji. Perhaps known but not widely discussed; the nature of its explicit adult content is often the…

Modern Manga (漫画) is associated with comics originating in Japan. Manga stories are usually printed in black and white, although colour versions do exist. These sketches are usually released as a series, presented in a single episode to be continued in future issues. There…

In the Edo period (1600-1868), Japan reached its cultural peak during two hundred years of peace, prosperity and national isolation. The arts, particularly refined by townsmen flourished; textiles, lacquer-work, decorative metalwork, ceramics, theatre and woodblock prints all reached levels of elegance and beauty the…

The art photo book 'Amorous' 『好色』 includes a provocative interpretation of the Japanese erotic art Shunga (春画). A portrayal of the tradtional woodblock prints prevalent in the Edo period (1600 - 1868). Described as pictures of the floating world, Ukiyo-e (浮世絵) represented an aesthetic…