40. Phallic contest Japan, 19th century This specimen presents the characteristic elements of Japanese horizontal illustrated scrolls, one of the country’s oldest pictorial forms. Specifically, it is a scroll from the late Edo period (1603–1867) and is composed of several juxtaposed sheets of Japanese paper that are ‘read’ from right to left. The scroll features watercolour drawings that, as noted by Giovanni Peternolli, portray the subject of the phallic contest (yo¯butsu-kurabe), a motif typical of Japanese humorous erotica first developed in the 11th century. In terms of its execution and iconographic choices, this piece closely parallels a work by Suzuki Sho¯nen (1849–1918) depicting the same theme and reproduced in Ukiyo-e. A Journal of Floating-World Art (no. 77, 1977, 127–30). The Library acquired this scroll in 1982. |
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