New exhibition of palm-sized shunga erotic prints in Kabukicho, Tokyo

A Small Love Story: The World of Mameban Shunga is a new exhibition of erotic prints in Tokyo.

It focuses on mameban (literally, “bean format”) shunga, referring to palm-sized prints that were distributed privately in the form of pictorial calendars and given to people like greeting cards. It is the world’s first such showcase of shunga in this format, and features around 300 examples.

“These palm-sized prints contain intimate, humorous, and tender love stories,” the organizers say. “Though small in scale, they are rich in expression.”

The exhibition runs, aptly, from Valentine’s Day on February 14 to March 15 at Bond, a venue on the ninth floor of the Kabukicho Social Building. Admission is ¥1,100.

Shunga (“spring pictures”) erotic prints are enjoying a renewed status in Japan now as both art and historically important depictions of sexuality. It began with the first major public exhibition of shunga prints in 2015, a quite typical case of “reverse import” where something Japanese was shown and acclaimed abroad, and then brought back to Japan to much fanfare. In this case, an exhibition at the British Museum had the effect of re-valorizing and legitimizing shunga, making it acceptable to exhibit them in public.

There have been further exhibitions in the years since and even a movie inspired by shunga.

The latest exhibition is being held in Kabukicho, which feels pretty appropriate as it’s basically Tokyo’s biggest red-light district despite recent attempts to gentrify it, much as shunga has become more “gentrified” and recognized, yet still exists in a kind of in between art and porn.

It is organized by Smappa! Group, which is involved in running host clubs, restaurants, and other “cultural” activities in Kabukicho. It is one of the forces behind the gentrification of the district (albeit not as ambitiously as, say, Toho, which has tried to turn the area into a tourist destination).

We were particularly excited by the merchandise. You can get shunga T-shirts, which will go very well with your shunga-themed sneakers.

Smappa! Group was also involved with another shunga exhibition last year, held at a noh venue in Kabukicho (yes, there’s now a stage for performing traditional noh in Kabukicho). Its merchandise included an awesome pack of seven shunga-inspired stickers. Put one of these on your notebook at work or school, or on the lid of your laptop, and see what response you get!

Smappa! Group is planning to continue hold further shunga exhibitions in Kabukicho as part of an ongoing series of events.