Ukiyoe shunga: Stampe erotiche giapponesi di epoca Edo

The term ukiyoe shunga (浮世絵春画, literally “erotic paintings of the floating world”) indicates all those woodblock prints and paintings with erotic allusions realized in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). Most of the ukiyoe artists of that time involved themselves in this genre, even great artists such Utamaro and Hiroshige. The history of shunga travels through the history of Japan itself, since its origins as a genre imported from China, to its apogee as genre appreciated by all classes, until its decline, due to strong censorship during the Meiji Restoration (1868). The article consists of a short introduction and of the translation from Japanese into Italian of an article by Hayakawa Monta, professor of “Modern Japanese Art” at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies of Kyoto.