Why Is Oral Sex Seldomly Seen in the Art of Shunga?
Shunga art displaying oral sex with a female performing fellatio on a male or vice versa are relatively rare.
Oral Sex Art
The reason oral sex (fellatio) scenes appear rarely in shunga has to do with the portrayal of exaggerated male organs. In the Edo period a small mouth was considered an element of feminine beauty. A combination of the two was simply not doable, although artists did find ways around this to show oral stimulation as we can see in the rare examples below…
‘Fellatio‘ (c.1838) from the series ‘Hana no miyakoji‘ by Utagawa Kunisada (1797-1861)
A completely naked male is leaning forwards while resting on his hands while the courtesan is performing fellatio on him.
‘Female performing fellatio‘ from the series ‘Nezamedoko ikuyo no mutsugoto‘ by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
A couple in a similar pose as the previous Kunisada design with the man lighting the lantern behind them and his female lover performing oral sex on him.
‘Pose 69‘ (c.1853) from the series ‘Shikido 18 kajo’ by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
A rare Kuniyoshi design with the couple performing mutual oral sex in the sixty-nine pose.
‘Mutual oral sex‘ (c.1848-1854) from the series ‘Shunshoku Irifune nikki‘ by Utagawa Kunimori II (act. ca.1830–1861)
An intimate couple focusing on each other’s genitals. The big gold-lacquered screen behind them portrays a spring scene with swallows and peonies. A nice detail is the foot of the woman directing the man’s hand.
Meiji/Taisho era painting of an intimate couple in the 69 pose
Below you can find two scenes depicting cunnilingus…
‘Male using his tongue to stimulate to the geisha’s genitals‘ (c.1820) attrib. to Katsukawa Shunsen (1762-1830)
‘Young monk performing cunnilingus‘ (c.1890) by an anonymous Meiji artist
‘Couple in the 69 pose underneath a mosquito-net‘ (c.1900) by an unknown Meiji artist
‘Mutual oral sex‘ (c.18oo) from the Kitagawa (Utamaro) school
‘Oral sex art‘ (c.1822) from the series ‘Ōyogari no koe (Call of Geese Meeting at Night)‘ by Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825)
Scroll painting ‘Aristocratic female performing oral sex‘ (late 17th century)by unknown “primitive” artist
‘A male, only sporting his fundoshi (underwear), is performing cunnilingus on a courtesan‘ (c.1820s) by an unknown Osaka artist
‘Geisha performing fellatio on a young client‘ (c.1850s) attrib. to Koikawa Shozan
‘A black man (most probably an Ethiopian) performing cunnilingus on a high-class courtesan.
She embraces his mysterious private parts.’ (c.1855) from the series ‘Shunkyo karami-dako (Spring Games: Grappling Octopus)‘ by Utagawa Kunisada II
‘A Westerner sporting sideburns performing
cunnilingus on a Japanese geisha.’ (c.1890) by an unknown Meiji artist
‘A male performing oral sex while the female caresses his penis with her toes. In the front, a female is enjoying herself with a harigata tied to her heel‘ (c.1840s) by Utagawa school
‘Nude female lover about to give a blowjob‘ (c.1850) from the series ‘Twelve Little Treasures‘ by Utagawa school
‘An experienced geisha performs fellatio on a young male client‘ (c.1765) ‘Ehon haru no yume’ by Kikukawa Hidenobu (active 1760s–1770s), (Source: ‘Сюнга. Откровенное искусство Японии / Shunga. Explicit art of Japan‘, 2016. Authors: A. E. Pushakova, K. G. Danelya)
Rare close-up of a ‘male performing oral sex‘ (c.1825) from the series ‘Kon kurabe tama no ase‘ by Utagawa Sadashige (Source: ‘Сюнга. Откровенное искусство Японии / Shunga. Explicit art of Japan‘, 2016. Authors: A. E. Pushakova, K. G. Danelya)
‘Young female beauty performing oral sex on a young male lover‘ (c.1860) from the series ‘Sankai hikan (The Secret Scroll of the Three Vaginas)‘ by Utagawa Kunisada II (1823-1880)
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