In shunga

, rapists are mainly depicted as Yakuza or thieves, easily recognizable by their black clothing and scarfs (Fig.1), or as highway bandits (Fig.2), sometimes stealing the woman’s clothes.

Perpetrators

Shunga shows all sorts of men as perpetrators, and sometimes gang rape

The most shocking design from both the series Utamakura and Fumi no kiyogaki by Utamaro and Eiri are the ones depicted below. Let’s take a closer at these extraordinary examples of rape art… Plate..

(Fig.1 and 3). Above all, most rapists are depicted as having physically unattractive attributes, such as an unusual amount of body hair, or unshaven or disfigured faces.

Fig.1.

Wetting the Fingers

An unfortunate female has an unwanted encounter with 3 ruffians (Fig.1). The heavily tattooed

The extremely talented and prolific Japanese artist Ozuma Kaname, born in Niigata in 1939, was trained in classical Japanese painting by his uncle Sakai Soushi. From all artists from the ‘Golden age’ SM..

(faded in this print) bandit leader is preparing for penetration by wetting his fingers. The illustration comes from an unidentified book series issued around 1830 and attributed to Utagawa Kunitora.

Fig.1a.

Fig,2.

Tied Victim

This koban-sized print (c.1789) by Katsukawa Shuncho depicts a highway bandit raping a tied female victim. The curled toes of the female suggest that she is enjoying it.

Fig.2a.

Fig.3.

Spectacled Rapist

Figure 3 features a notorious rape scene with three villains in a darkened room humiliating a woman. The leading man, who is wearing spectacles, penetrates his victim while holding a candle. The design comes from the book ‘Byokei ri goyoshi ga‘ (c.1830) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Although I dived deep into my shunga library (which lacks very few books on the subject) and also thoroughly researched the internet about the ehon (book) below, I unfortunately could not find much background..

(1797-1861). In the past it was suggested among shunga devotees that the spectacled rapist is the artist himself.

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Click HERE for a striking shunga tableau deicting the ghastly rape of a seamstress.