Shunga Books and Prints in Context

Shunga Project

This symposium is part of a three-year project funded by The Leverhulme Trust in Britain, with contributions from the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Kyoto) and Ritsumeikan University. It is a joint project of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, the British Museum, the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto and Ritsumeikan University. The project and symposium were also supported by grants from the Prime Ministers Initiative 2 (PMI2 British Council) and the Japan Foundation.

The aim is to examine critically shunga and shunpon (shunga books) as works of art and literature, to produce scholarly publications in English and Japanese, and to have an exhibition on Shunga at the British Museum and in Japan.

It is exciting to have the co-operation of Ritsumeikan and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies for this project. We are grateful for this invaluable support.

Shunga Project

Andrew Gerstle
SOAS, University of Londen

Timothy Clark
British Museum