Kyosai's Comical Wink to Shoki, the Demon Queller and the Tanabata Stars
04 mei 2021 
3 min. read

Kyosai's Comical Wink to Shoki, the Demon Queller and the Tanabata Stars

The following smaller koban-sized shunga prints are from an untitled set by Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889) of 12 calendrical prints issued in 1871…

Shoki Kyosai Shunga

Fig.1.

Shoki, the Demon Queller

Figure 1 depicts a design for the 5th month (May): “A woman attacks Shoki (Zhong Kui) with a geisha pillow as he tries to sleep with her, exclaiming, ‘How impudent!’, she overpowers him by grabbing his beard. Shoki, known as the Demons Queller, is usually a strong protector, and his expression here is very comical. Pictures of Shoki were hung for the Boy’s Festival in the fifth month.

intercourse close up Kyosai

Fig.2.

Orihime

This second design (Fig.2) is for the 7th month (July): The Tanabata stars Kengyu (Altair) and the weaver woman Orihime (Vega) light up as they observe the moment of penetration.

Scientifically Anatomical

Located on both sides of the Galaxy, Hikoboshi and Orihime were allowed to meet once a year on the eve of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month (July) during the Tanabata Festival.  Therefore this image is related to July and the year of 1871. Kyosai’s depiction can be said to be almost ‘scientifically anatomical‘ in its precision.

Sources: ‘Sex and Laughter with Kyosai: Shunga from the Israel Goldman Collection‘ by Ishigami Aki and Sadamura Koto
Japanese Erotic Fantasies: Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period‘ by Chris Uhlenbeck a.0.

Click HERE for another amusing design from this series involving a vaginal storehouse…!!

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About the author
Marijn is the founder of shungagallery.com. With more than 20 years of experience within the sensual and erotic art of shunga he is an authority in the genre. During this time he served many customers with complementing their art collection.
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