The Roots of HENTAI
A part or aspect of Japanese erotic culture is “Shunga.”
“Shunga” is the greatest masterpiece of “ukiyo-e” and an erotic art that Japan is proud of around the world. And this “shunga” is the very root of HENTAI.
“Shunga” is said to date back 900 years, but it was not until the Edo period (1600s-1800s) that it became hugely popular.
Shunga depicts men and women engaging in hentai acts, but what’s distinctive about shunga from the Edo period is that there are far more clothed works than nude ones. This is because, in the Edo period, it was common for men and women to engage in HENTAI acts while fully clothed.
Also, it seemed like neither the men nor the women were particularly interested in seeing each other naked; it was more critical for them to enjoy the HENTAI act itself than to be nude. Even today, many men in Japan find fully clothed women more erotic than entirely naked women.
