Warai-e (comic or pornographic picture) is another name for shunga also known as “laughing pictures”. They were not necessarily supposed to be comical but were meant to be more esoteric, as they were part of a cultural or conceptual scope outside of the everyday domain of real-life morality.
Mystery
The amusing example of today (a shikake-e – toy print) offers a wonderful fusion of humor and mystery. It is set in a dark forest featuring a young couple with the male caressing the private parts of the female with his entire hand (Fig.1). Besides them on the left stands a mysterious box.
Fig.1. ‘Young male fingering his lover‘ (c.1824) from the series ‘Senrikyu‘ by Utagawa Kunitora
Is This Her Fantasy?
When the flap is turned (Fig.2), the young male has been replaced by an enigmatic and muscular horse-figure wearing a stylish kimono performing cunnilingus. The image raises the question ‘Is this her fantasy?’ One gets the impression since the horse-figure is clearly the better lover. The artist Kunitora used subtle differences, such as the varying position of the toes on her right foot.
Fig.2. When the flap is opened the young male is replaced by a ‘Horse Performing Cunnilingus‘
Claw Feet
In a consecutive image (Fig.3) we see the horse sitting underneath a tree in a post-coital moment complacently licking his scrotum while resting his claw feet. The only partially visible moon (in the waning crescent phase) adds to the supernatural atmosphere.
Fig.3. ‘Saturated horse‘ (c.1824) from the series ‘Senrikyu‘ by Utagawa Kunitora
Click HERE for more entertaining shunga (warai-e) with aroused animals…!!!
Sources:
‘Japanese Erotic Fantasies: Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period‘ by Chris Uhlenbeck (i.a.)
‘Japanese Erotic Art: The Hidden World of Shunga‘ by Ofer Shagan
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