Puupiirrokset, osa 6

Tekstit on kirjoittanut professori Monta Hayakawa, käännös Transform Corporation: Tyler Shaw ja Tomoko Sakomura.

16 Katsushika Hokusai, "The Adonis Plant (Fukujusô)"
Woodblock, set of 12, ôban
ca. 1815
25.8 x 39.8 cm

This shunga series follows the format of the majority of shunga series in including a foreword at the beginning and a short story (fubun) at the end. However, the illustrative style is visually overwhelming, depicting the men and women as large, intertwined masses of moving flesh; furthermore, the series introduces greater variety in its characters than preceding works. The lengthy dialogues between the characters, reminiscent of Utamaro's shunga, are characterized by their plain and straightforward quality as well as the many and varied expressions of passionate ecstasy. (In the dialogues of this work, the characters' exclamations are transliterated rather than translated -- trans.)

[fig. 1] Setting: A living room in a commoner house in Shitamachi district. Characters: A mother and her infant son. Situation: While doing needlework, the wife begins talking to herself as she recalls last night's activities with her husband.
Dialogue: Mother: "There are ten kinds of penises, they say: one, the dark-colored penis; two, the tall and narrow-headed; three, the light-colored; four, the slanted; five, the doughy; six, the fat; seven, the long; eight, the thin; nine, the bent and ten, the uncircumcised, sake bottle-shaped -- no wonder my husband's is nice. It's dark, with a tall and narrow head but wide at the base, and no matter how many times we do it he never weakens. It truly has all the thirty-two attributes (the thirty-two attributes of greatness set forth by the Buddha). It's thanks to my belief in the deities and the Buddhas since my youth that I've been blessed with this wonderful penis of his. I really don't know how many times I climaxed last night. Thinking about it is getting me excited. Tonight we'll go until we're completely satisfied."
Boy: "Mother, when I grow up I want to make love endlessly just like you and Father last night. Won't you teach me how?"
Mother (embarrassed): "Now, now, saying silly things like that! Ho, ho, ho, ho."
Of course, a child would never actually say such a thing; here we find another instance of Hokusai-esque humor, appropriate for shunga.

[fig. 2] Setting: A private spot outdoors. Characters: Two lovers. Situation: The pair, who have been seeing each other for some time, have no money to meet at a deai-chaya, so they find a private outdoor spot for a secret rendezvous.
Dialogue: Woman: "Although we've become intimate like this, when will we be able to get married? I never grow tired of making love to you, but doing it so hurriedly outdoors like this isn't easy."
Man: "That's true, this is the third year of our relationship. I enjoy being with you in whatever circumstance, but if I had my wish we would be together night and day. Since we do it three or four times even in such a rush like this, imagine how often we would be able to have sex if we were husband and wife? Now, let’s raise your leg like this... "
While the pair has no scruples about pre-marital sex, it is interesting that deep in their hearts they still have a strong desire to be married. Their reason -- that they could have sex to their heart's content -- is heartwarming in a way.

[fig. 3] Setting: A room in a deai-chaya. Characters: Two young lovers. Situation: The two young lovers are finally able to make love the way they wished.
Dialogue: Man: "This is the first time we've been able to really spend time together. My feelings have been building up for so long, I can barely contain myself."
Woman: "I've thought about being with you a lot as well, and since I couldn't bear it any longer I’ve finally managed to arrange it. Promise you'll never abandon me. Hâ hâ, sû sû, fû fû."
The young woman's heartfelt plea, "Promise you'll never abandon me," is sweet.

[fig. 4] A room in a commoner house. Characters: A wife and her secret lover. Situation: A scene of the woman's infidelity.
Dialogue: Wife: "Once I've felt your touch, no other can satisfy me. Yes, yes, strongly, all the way to the back."
Two mouths kissing: "Chû chû, ’pa ’pa, uun uun"
Lover: "Push downwards and use this hand to bring our hips together."
Wife: "Hâ hâ, right there, right there, yes, I'm coming!"
There are many unfaithful wives in shunga depictions of Edo's Shitamachi, indicating the strength and enthusiasm of Edo's commoner women.

[fig. 5] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A husband and wife. Situation: The well-acquainted pair makes love uninhibitedly.
Dialogue: Husband: "This position isn't the regular cha-usu. Since you're riding on top of my stomach (hara), should we call it hara-usu for now? How does this feel for you?"
Wife: "Wonderful. Go stronger, put your finger in occasionally and fondle that little bump."
Husband: "Sure, sure, like this?"
Wife: "Yes, yes, just like that, if you keep touching me there I'll climax. This is the critical point, so work hard for me. Uun, uun, this is already the third time, hâ, hâ, how can I be orgasming this much?"
Husband: "Uun, uun, I'm climaxing as well. I can't hold on any longer. Sû, sû."
A senryû of the time that reads, "injuring oneself imitating shunga," perfectly describes the unnatural sexual position depicted here.

[fig. 6] Setting: A corner of a public bath (sentô). Characters: A bath attendant (sansuke) and a young lady who frequents the establishment. Situation: The attendant, who harbors an unrequited affection for the young lady, takes advantage of an unsupervised moment to force himself on her.
Monologue: Sansuke: "Be a good girl, and please do as I tell you. Since I'm a sansuke, and I've watched your young, thinly-haired omusu (a young girl's vagina) develop for a long time, I'm not a complete stranger. I'm still a young man but look at my equipment -- the foreskin is coming off and it's a perfect match for your omusu. There, I've pinned you down. The head's halfway in. There, it's in just past the head. Yes, yes, it's in all the way. Hâ, hâ, that's it, that's it."
In shunga, a convention developed of depicting uncouth men that forced themselves on women with ugly faces, uncircumcised penises and hairy bodies.

[fig. 7] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A husband and wife. Situation: On a summer night, the harmoniously married husband and wife make love within a mosquito net, but the husband is not himself due to the heat.
Dialogue: Husband: "Aah, it's a hot evening. After three times, I'm exhausted."
Wife: "What's wrong with you tonight? Why are you mumbling about being tired and not wanting to do it anymore? We're not finished. Let's do it at least five more times."
Husband: "Well, then . . . sâ, sâ, that's it, that's it."
Wife: "Uun, uun, that feels good."
An exhausted man hard-pressed by a lively woman pestering him for more is one of the comical subjects in shunga.

[fig. 8] Setting: An inner parlor of a prosperous mercantile house. Characters: A widow and her kept companion (otoko-mekake). Situation: The widow has called in her young otoko-mekake for some amusements. A package of Chômeigan is laid out on the side.
Dialogue: Otoko-mekake: "If you exert yourself too much all the time, it's bad for the body. Please rest a while."
Widow: "Why do you say that? You don't need to worry about me exerting myself too much. I'll bite you if you dislike me so. Stop saying such things and come here."
Two mouths kissing: "Tsupa, tsupa"; Sound effect: "Nicha, nicha (wet sticky sound)"
Widow: "Oh, oh, that's good, that's good. Don't be impatient, do it right. Hâ hâ, fû fû. That's really wonderful. That's it, I'm coming, I'm coming. Good, that was the third time. Let's wipe it clean. Oh, you’re so cute."
Well-off older women in the Edo period often kept young male companions.

[fig. 9] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A married woman and her mabu. Situation: While her husband is out of the house, the wife brings her lover over and makes love to him to her heart's content.
Dialogue: Wife: "I’m so happy that my husband is away tonight! Since it’s rare to have such a leisurely evening, please don't stop until I'm completely fulfilled. Yes, yes, go strongly there, and hold me tighter. Uun, uun, hâ hâ. I'm coming, I'm coming, yes, yes!"
Lover: "Tonight your yadoroku (a derogatory name for a husband) is out, so we'll be sure to go until we're spent. Uun, uun, if you're enjoying it that much I'll also . . ."
Shunga often features unfaithful wives, and makes the cuckolded husband the object of ridicule.

[fig. 10] Setting: A shelter on the beach. Characters: A woman abalone diver and her fisherman lover. Situation: The man is jealous, having heard rumors of his lover's infidelity, while the woman is determined to dodge his suspicious inquiries and draw him into sex.
Dialogue: Fisherman: "Someone said he saw you with another guy on the opposite shore last night."
Woman diver: "Why are you talking such nonsense? I'm completely in love with you, and I’ve sworn before Funadama (the god of sailing vessels) that I’ll have no other man. If you can't understand that, I pity you."
Fisherman: "All the same, someone saw you. They said you were clinging on to him like an abalone, crying 'uun uun, sû sû,' and that you boiled over like a pot of soup."
Woman diver: "My, you're persistent. Stop saying such things, and let's make love."
Fisherman: "Well, I suppose we could start over."
Sound effect: "gusu gusu (wet rubbing sound)"
Woman diver: "There, put it in."
Sound effect: "nururî (slow, wet slipping sound)"
Woman diver: "Hâ hâ, uun uun uun"
In shunga, the sexual interaction between ordinary men and women is depicted as big-hearted and enthusiastic, but feelings of jealousy and desires for marriage appear from time to time, bringing with them a sense of reality.

[fig. 11] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A wife and her lover. Situation: Here as well, the wife brings her lover over, ecstatic that her husband is away.
Dialogue: Wife: "There aren’t many evenings that work out like tonight. And it feels even better the more we do it. Yes, yes, come inside me. Oh, don't do that, it's not clean down there."
Lover: "What do you mean? That's where I was born from. Oh, but it does taste a little salty."
Wife: "Now, now, let's do it for real. Fû, fû, I'm climaxing again. There, that's it, go stronger and deeper, hâ hâ"
With unfaithful wives appearing so frequently in shunga, the husbands of Edo must have been loath to spend the night away from home.

[fig. 12] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A pregnant wife and her husband. Situation: The white sash tied around her abdomen indicates that the woman is pregnant. The husband, worried about the child in her womb, makes love to her from behind.
Dialogue: Wife: "It tickles, stop it! Why are you just suckling my breasts?"
Husband: "I thought it might be good to get you used to it before the baby starts."
Woman: "Just make love to me, quickly."
Husband: "Well, then, how's this?"
Wife: "Uun uun, that's it. Hâ hâ, this is much better than last night. Squeeze up to the hairline with all your might. And go deeply . . . There, there, all the way to the womb, yes, uun uun, I'm coming."
The couple make love backwards in order not to place pressure on the abdomen, although their enthusiasm gives the viewer some cause to worry about the child after all. There was no time where sex was forbidden in the world of shunga.

17 Katsushika Hokusai, "Plovers Above Waves (Nami chidori)"Woodblock, set of 12 prints, tesaishiki
ca. 1829
24.5 x 37.6 cm

Although this series is recognized as Hokusai's representative shunga work, its composition almost exactly mirrors his earlier "The Adonis Plant." That is because this work is essentially a reprint of the former, using a new woodblock carved from an impression (a technique called kabuse-bori) of the "The Adonis Plant," omitting some of the in-frame text as well as some of the background elements, and with color added by hand. The background mica’s metallic glitter coupled with the intense coloration of the figures and clothing produce an even more powerful sensuality than "The Adonis Plant." This Hokusai work, together with Utamaro's "Poem of the Pillow (Utamakura)" and Kiyonaga's "Scroll in a Sleeve (Sode no maki)," is considered to be one of the three great works of shunga; of the three this work features the most exaggerated and vividly drawn genitalia, communicating a truly overwhelming feeling of raw existence. By removing all pretension, Hokusai hints at the unspoken shadows of human existence hidden within our sexual organs.

[fig. 1] Setting: A living room in a commoner house. Characters: A mother and her infant boy. Situation: A mother who enjoys a rich and fulfilling sex life with her husband.

[fig. 2] Setting: A private outdoor spot. Characters: Two lovers. Situation: Lacking the money to meet at a deai-chaya, the two lovers have a rendezvous in a private outdoor spot.

[fig. 3] Setting: A room in a deai-chaya. Characters: Two young lovers. Situation: The two young lovers are finally able to fulfill their hearts' desire.

[fig. 4] Setting: A room in a commoner house. Characters: A wife and her lover. Situation: The wife has an adulterous encounter with her young lover.

[fig. 5] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A husband and wife. Situation: The husband and wife, fond and familiar with each other, make love uninhibitedly.

[fig. 6] Setting: A corner of a public bath. Characters: A sansuke and a young woman who frequents the establishment. In a corner of the bathhouse, the sansuke forces himself upon the young woman, who does not return his affection.

[fig. 7] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A husband and wife. Situation: On a summer night, the husband and wife make love affectionately inside a mosquito net.

[fig. 8] Setting: An inner parlor of a prosperous commoner house. Characters: A widow and her otoko-mekake. Situation: The widow has called in a favorite young male employee to do some side labor.

[fig. 9] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A married woman and her lover. Situation: Taking advantage of her husband's absence, the married woman has invited her lover over for some amusements.

[fig. 10] Setting: A shelter on a beach. Characters: A female abalone diver and her fisherman lover. Situation: The woman attempts to dodge her lover's questions, inspired by rumors of her infidelity.

[fig. 11] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A wife and her lover. Situation: Here as well a wife, joyous at her husband's absence from home, calls in her lover for an infidelitous encounter.

[fig. 12] Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house. Characters: A pregnant wife and her husband. Situation: The husband makes love to his pregnant wife, indicated as such by the white sash tied around her abdomen.

18 Harukawa Goshichi, "Picture Book: The Artifices of Love (Ehon tagoto no hana)"
Woodblock, ôban, orijô (folding album)
ca. 1805
26.1 x 36.4 cm

Most ukiyo-e prints were produced in Edo; this shunga series is a rare example of one produced in Kyoto. One of its distinct characteristics is the coloration, which relative to Edo prints is rich and matte -- an effect of gofun, powdered white clamshell, which was mixed into pigments used in multicolored prints in Osaka and Kyoto. Also notable is that in this particular series each print is given a title on the theme "Edo Men and Kyoto Women," 

making explicit Goshichi's intent to respond to the sensational figures of Edo beauties as drawn by Kitagawa Utamaro with elegant figures of Kyoto women. The inspiration for this almost certainly came from the fact that Goshichi was born and raised in Edo and in his later years lived and produced prints in Kyoto. (However, the Edo-esque long facial features remain apparent here.) Finally, in contrast to Edo-produced series, which rarely had a connecting thread between the prints, it was relatively common for the prints in Kyoto series to have a common theme; in this example, a different sexual act is depicted in each print.

[fig. 1] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Honde (normal or missionary position). Characters: A young man and a naive girl. Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house.
Dialogue: Girl: "For some reason that feels incredibly good. Aaahhhh."
Young man: "That means you’re climaxing."
Girl: "Is that so? Uh, uh, uh, uh."

[fig. 2] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Namari no Tenjin-dori (reverse seated position). Characters: A prostitute from the Shimabara (a licensed district in Kyoto) and a customer from Edo. Setting: A room in a Shimabara house of pleasure.
Monologue: Prostitute: "Stop playing around. This position makes me uneasy."

[fig. 3] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Cha-usu (“tea-grinder,” woman on top). Characters: An older woman and a male acquaintance visiting from Edo. Setting: A parlor in a commoner house.
Monologue: Woman: "It's your misfortune to have told me that you'd come; I'm not going to let you go until the morning, so you'd better prepare yourself. Oh, you're so cute. (kissing him) Ahh, oh, oh, oh. Your parents sinned when they created you, you bewitch me so."

[fig. 4] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Komainu (“guardian dog,” woman on back, man in sitting dog position). Characters: An ugly Edo man and an older Kyoto woman. Setting: A second floor room in a commoner house.
Dialogue: Woman: "Wait a moment. I've gone all loose, so I’ll wipe it off."
Man: "I'd rather you didn't -- I like the sounds it makes when I draw myself back, 'zuppo (sucking sound),' and when I thrust, 'piccha (splashy sound).'"
Woman: "I hate that. Uh, uh, ah, ah, uh, uh."

[fig. 5] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Tachi-dori (standing position, woman with legs apart). Characters: An oku-jochû from a samurai house on a long-anticipated daisan errand, and the attendant accompanying her. Setting: A deserted spot on the night road home.
Dialogue: Oku-jochû: "Just as you say, I have never made love to my heart's content. So I want you to make love to me many times, but I’m sure you rather not do it with someone like me."
Attendant: "What are you saying? Since we both usually have to rely upon ourselves for gratification, you're not asking me to do anything I don't want to do myself. No matter what might happen, I want to continue like this until the dawn. Eh? What happened? You seem to be overcome already."

[fig. 6] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Sankyoku (attacking from three directions at once). Characters: A widow reciting sutras and her lover. Setting: The widow's room.
Monologue: Widow: "Oh, what shall I do. When you do that to me there's no way I can resist. Yes, ah, ah, Chûshichi-san, does it feel this good because I haven’t done it in fifty days? Uh, uh, yes, yes, that feels so good. Ahh, ahh, uh, uh, that's it, Chûshichi-san, you're a
master! Suck on my mouth, too. (kiss, kiss) Uh, uh, uh, uh. I'm dying, I'm dying. Ooh, ah, ah, I'm climaxing, please go faster. Ahh, Chûshichi-san, don't be cruel, go faster. Yes, I'm really climaxing. Aahh, ah, ah, ah, here I go, here I go . . ."
Sound effects: Fluid: "Zubo, zubo (sloshing sound)" Around vagina: "Nuru, nuru (slippery sound)" Penis: "Tokki, tokki (standing erect sound)"
Monologue: Widow: "Go faster, go faster, oh, why won’t you go faster? Ahhh, ah, ah."
Sound effects: "Bicha, bicha (wet slapping sound)" Vagina (rubbed quickly with the finger): "Biko, biko (muscles twitching sound)"

[fig. 7] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Wari-komi (“cutting in,” sideways position). Characters: A mistress and her lover. Setting: A room in the mistress's house.
Dialogue: Lover: "Today your patron isn't coming around?"
Mistress: "He came by yesterday, but he's already gone home, so we don't have to worry about him coming around today. Take your time and fulfill me. Here, put it in all the way and keep it there. Doesn’t that feel good? That's the right spot."
Lover: "Yes, I know that's how you like it."
Mistress: "Hey, you moved it again. It'll get loose, I hate that. Ah, ah, oh, what shall I do! Uh, uh."

[fig. 8] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Yoko-dori (“stealing from the side,” frontal position, lying on side). Characters: A blind masseuse (zatô) and an older woman who has requested a house call. Setting: A room in a commoner house.
Monologue: Older woman: "What’s the matter, have you finished already? I need a bit more time. I’m the one who should be climaxing, you useless man. Well, leave it in and keep going anyway. If you do that, it's alright that you've finished early. Ah, ah, that's it, that's it, I'm coming. Yes, oh, oh that feels so good. Aaa, that's it, here I go, here I go!"

[fig. 9] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Hokake (“sail,” with the man seated between the woman's legs). Characters: A middle-aged married couple. Setting: A bedroom in a commoner house.
Dialogue: Wife: "Try using your hand down there. I don't like it when it's that wet. Ah, that's really irritating. Put it in quickly. I think I'm going to finish soon. Look, now, look, what can be happening? Can so much fluid be coming out?"
Husband: "When you get this wet, my manhood gets even stronger -- look at this shine! And see the suzu-guchi (urethral orifice)? Look at the water of love coming out." Fluid: “Byokku, byokku (ejaculation sound)”

[fig. 10] Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Suehiro (“widening towards end,” legs intersected). Characters: A prostitute and customer. Setting: A room in a brothel.
Monologue: Prostitute: "Kume-san, although I want to enjoy sex like this, there is not a single customer in Kyoto that truly moves me. Only Edo men can fulfill my heart after all. Lately, when men visit from Edo and I give them all my enthusiasm, they drive themselves to ruin wooing me. But you've been in Kyoto too long now. All you do is lead women astray, never repaying their affection -- such a spiteful man. No, joking aside, make me your wife."

[fig. 11] Title: Edo Men, Kyoto Women: Shiri kara (“from behind”). Characters: An older married woman and her lover. Setting: A living room in a commoner house. An enpon (erotic book) lies open on the kotatsu.
Dialogue: Older woman: "Kinji, I'm already there. Ah, ah, yes. Why does it feel so good? Ah, ah, Kinji, is it all right to flow like this? Ah, ah, it's flowing, it's flowing, yes, yes. Please forgive me if I get your leg wet. Ah, ah, that feels so good. Oh, yes, I feel like I'm going to come. I'm coming. Yes, ah, no, not there, further in, higher. Ah, that's it, that's it."
Kinji-san: "You sound like one of the ecstatic women in Harukawa's dialogues. Look at that. Aren’t I a marvel?"

[fig. 12] Edo Men, Tokyo Women: Issoku (“one leg,” man on top, woman's legs closed). Characters: Two servants who have come ahead of their group to reserve a spot for hana-mi. Setting: Within the hana-mi curtains.
Monologue: Female servant: "I'll get the mistress's permission to stay on until your service ends so that when it does we can be husband and wife. I'm so happy. You're doing well. Go stronger here. It feels so good when you thrust strongly! That's it. When you push there, it feels so good. Keep going until you kill me -- I don't care if I die. Put it in deeper. No, you're pulling out towards the front. I want you to go in deeply. Ah, yes, uh, uh." 

Lasipalatsin Mediakeskus Oy ©2001 8.9.2004