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- Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University
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56-1 Toji-in Kita-machi, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8577 JAPAN
PHONE: +81-(0)75-466-3411
The 1st Shunga Project to celebrate
Shunga Books and Prints in Context
Introduction
Shunga (Japanese erotic art and literature) has been censored from at least 1722 by successive Japanese governments. However, during the 17th to 19th centuries, as many as 1500 sexually explicit books and many more paintings and single-sheet prints were produced.
It was only from the late Meiji period that strict suppression of shunga began. This has cast a taboo over shunga in modern/contemporary Japan casting it outside the realm of proper scholarship. This has meant that the Japanese have denied the very existence of a major part of their own tradition. A consequence is that shunga has virtually been forgotten about by the average person and even among scholars.
This symposium aims to bring together scholars from Japan and the West to focus on the vast range of shunga and shunpon that exist, and to critically examine the works in relation to other fiction and art of the era. We aim to lift the taboo from shunga in order to understand better the history of Japanese society and culture.
Essentially we plan to take shunga seriously as important historical and social artefacts and sources.
The Art Research Center’s ‘Shunga’ exhibition, which accompanies the Shunga Symposium, aims to show representative books and prints from the Ritsumeikan and Nichibunken collections, including works from Kyoto and Osaka.
We are also planning a major Shunga exhibition at the British Museum, hopefully in collaboration with a Japanese museum.
We are very grateful to have the co-operation and support of the Art Research Center of Ritsumeikan as collaborators for this symposium.
- Shunga Project
- Andrew Gerstle
SOAS, University of Londen - Timothy Clark
British Museum
Outline
Symposium
| Title | The 10th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University. Symposium "Shunga Books and Prints in Context" |
| Time and Date | 1:00-5:30PM, December 4 (Fri.) and 9:30AM-5:30PM, December 5 (Sat.), 2009 |
| Place | Nakano Memorial Hall, Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan University |
| Admission | Free |
| Sponsored/organized | Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University /ARC |
| Global COE Program "Digital Humanities Center For Japanese Arts And Cultures," Ritsumeikan University /GCOE、DH-JAC | |
| School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London /SOAS | |
| International Research Center for Japanese Studies | |
| Planning | Shunga Project |
| Planning members | Andrew Gerstle /Professor, SOAS, University of Londen; Visiting Scholars, Ritsumeikan University; Leader, Shunga Project |
| Ryo Akama /Professor, Ritsumeikan University; Director, ARC, Ritsumeikan University; Director, DH-JAC | |
| Monta Hayakawa /Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies | |
| Aki Ishigami /Postdoctoral fellow, GCOE; Organizer | |
| Speackers ※Alphabetical order |
Ryo Akama /Professor, Ritsumeikan University; Director, ARC, Ritsumeikan University; Director, DH-JAC |
| Shugo Asano /Director, The Museum Yamatobunkakan | |
| Paul Berry /Professor, Kansai Gaidai University | |
| Rosina Buckland /Curator and Postdoctoral fellow, The British Museum | |
| Andrew Gerstle /Professor, SOAS, University of Londen; Visiting Scholars, Ritsumeikan University; Leader, Shunga Project | |
| Monta Hayakawa /Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies | |
| Kazutaka Higuchi /Curator, Mitsui Memorial Museum | |
| Kenji Hinohara /Chief Curator, Ukiyoe-Ota Memorial Museum of Art | |
| Aki Ishigami /Postdoctoral fellow, GCOE; Organizer | |
| Fumiko Kobayashi /Associate Professor, Hosei University | |
| Takashi Nakajima /Professor, Waseda University | |
| Jenny Preston /Doctoral student, SOAS, University of London | |
| Yoshihiko Shirakura /Trustee, International Ukiyo-e Society | |
| Gen Takagi /Professor, Chiba University | |
| Ellis Tinios /Professor Emeritus, University of Leeds | |
| Yukari Yamamoto /Member of Editorial Board, International Ukiyo-e Society | |
| Akiko Yano /Postdoctoral fellow, SOAS, University of Londen; Visiting Scholars, Ritsumeikan University |
Exhibition
| Title | The 10th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University. Exhibition "Shunga Books and Prints in Context" |
| Exhibition Period | November 24 (Tue.)-December 18 (Fri.), 2009 |
| Place | Reading Room, Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University |
| Time | 9:30AM-5:00PM Closed: Saturdays and Sundays ※ Will open on December 5 (Sat.) and 6 (Sun.). |
| Admission | Free |
| Sponsored/organized | Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University /ARC |
| Global COE Program "Digital Humanities Center For Japanese Arts And Cultures," Ritsumeikan University /GCOE、DH-JAC | |
| School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London /SOAS | |
| International Research Center for Japanese Studies | |
| Planning | Shunga Project |
| Planning members | Andrew Gerstle /Professor, SOAS, University of Londen; Visiting Scholars, Ritsumeikan University; Leader, Shunga Project |
| Ryo Akama /Professor, Ritsumeikan University; Director, ARC, Ritsumeikan University; Director, DH-JAC | |
| Monta Hayakawa /Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies | |
| Aki Ishigami /Postdoctoral fellow, GCOE; Organizer |
The organizers would like to express their thank for the cooperation to the following members
| Support staff | Yoshikazu Nishikawa /Visiting Associate Professor, Kinugasa Research Organization; Research Manager, ARC, Ritsumeikan University |
| Keiko Suzuki /Visiting Associate Professor, Kinugasa Research Organization; Research Manager, ARC, Ritsumeikan University | |
| Princess Akiko of Mikasa /PD, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Akiko Yano /Visiting Researcher, Kinugasa Research Organization; PD, SOAS, University of London | |
| Atsuko Oya /RA, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Bincsik Monika /RA, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Chise Saito /RA, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Kiyofumi Kusui /PD, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Masae Kurahashi /PD, Ritsumeikan University | |
| Masako Yamamoto /PD, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Mizuho Kamo /RA, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Ping Zhou /RA, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Ryoko Matsuba /PD, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Shinya Maezaki /PD, R-GIRO | |
| Takaaki Kaneko /RA, Kinugasa Research Organization; DC1, JSPS | |
| Takaaki Okamoto /PD, Kinugasa Research Organization | |
| Elis Tinios /Professor Emeritus, University of Leeds | |
| Poster design | Naoko Ishimura /Staff, ARC, Ritsumeikan University |
| Web design | Kenji Hattori /Research Assistant, Kinugasa Research Organization |
| Video record | Yuji Hamada /Researcher, Kinugasa Research Organization; Studio Leader, ARC, Ritsumeikan University |
| Ayaka Kodera /Studio Staff, ARC, Ritsumeikan University | |
| Kentaro Kodama /Studio Staff, ARC, Ritsumeikan University | |
| Shintaro Wada /Studio Staff, ARC, Ritsumeikan University | |
| Office | Tomoko Sugatani /Staff, Office of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, Ritsumeikan University |
| Shoko Kurata /Staff, Office of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, Ritsumeikan University | |
| Yuko Miura /Staff, ARC, Ritsumeikan University | |
| Kyoko Yoshida /Staff, Office of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, Ritsumeikan University | |
| Hitomi Hamashita /Staff, Office of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, Ritsumeikan University | |
| Naoko Imanaka /Staff, ARC, Ritsumeikan University |
Cooperated by lending exhibition items
| International Research Center for Japanese Studies |
Contact Information
| Contact us at: | Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University |
| Phone | +81-(0)75-466-3411 (9:00AM-5:30PM, Weekdays) |
| Fax | +81-(0)75-466-3415 |
| arc-jimu [at] arc.ritsumei.ac.jp | |
| Place | 56-1 Toji-in Kita-machi, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8577 JAPAN |
| c/o | Aki Ishigami |