In Japan, various traditions overlap: mythology, Shintoism and Buddhism. Shintoism is the eternal religion of the Japanese; the greatest good according to this religion is life, and everything is created by attracting sex. Erotic content can be found in many legends, for example about the creation of the world or about an invisible lover in the form of a snake, the pregnancies of virgins, relationships of deities with people.
In the culture of Japan, the erotic symbolism has developed extremely richly
For example, the phallus symbol are sticks, white radish roots, spears, and arrows; Women's symbols are: plates, peaches, horseshoes, rice paddles, etc. In the pantheon of deities there are five male-female pairs that create the world. To this day, there are bas-reliefs depicting the characteristics of both sexes and being the object of worship.
Japanese culture incorporated sex into everyday life very early
The art of love, written in the ninth century in many textbooks, talks about the intimate union of the languages of both partners during intercourse or about lesbian contacts and group sex. In the Japanese villages to this day, sculptures representing a co-living pair can be found. The cult of the phallus was so common that homosexuality was not treated as a deviation. Sexual contacts were forbidden to bonzom (priests), but their asceticism was the exception. The institution of a geisha has become very popular since the tenth century in Japan. The geisha occupies a specific place in the symbolism of Japanese eroticism - its vocation is more to entertain men's mental enjoyment than to satisfy their sexual needs. Thanks to comprehensive education (from the age of 10), especially in the field of literature, music and dance, as well as personal charm, geisha have made the time for the guests of the house master, often mediating in business and political negotiations.
Prostitutes were treated as a separate professional group.
The education of students for this profession was also long and complex - women were learning to sing, music and tea ceremony, and only after a few years of love art. After extending a certain number of years, they returned to a normal life and were again considered as decent women. In Japan, prostitutes were not despised, even depending on their position and talents, they could occupy honorable places. Until today, a prostitution-related holiday is celebrated - women then dress up as men and men dress as women. In the nineteenth in., as a result of establishing contacts with the West, the distance between the sexes grew, the custom of pre-marital cohabitation began to diminish, the samurai imposed subordinate feminine roles, and the types of marriages diversified.
In the Japanese family, genealogy was essential to maintain the continuity of the family, immortalizing its members.
The family was patriarchal and the authority of her head was based on legislation and customs. Apart from exercising power, the head of the family was concerned with maintaining harmony, order and well-being, during the Middle Ages this person could even decide about the life and death of family members. Showing respect and obedience to the head of the family was treated as the basic virtue of children; any signs of disobedience were punished severely (eg exclusion from the family, erasing the name from the family census). All decisions of family members regarding the choice of occupation, work, partner for marriage, travel had to be preceded by obtaining consent. Old age and longevity were valued. In the event of the death of the father, the son of the deceased was entitled to the head of the family; Depending on the era, the oldest, the youngest or the bravest. In the absence of a male descendant, a woman could become the head of the family.
The Japanese family enjoyed the birth of a large number of children, because thanks to them the family immortalized its existence and multiplied the state of being.
The child's age was counted from conception. In the 5th year of the child's life there was a haircut ceremony, and in the 7th year of "leaving the childhood", further ceremonies were associated with puberty, which fell on the age of 13-15 years. Children were early introduced into the secrets of sex life, and many elements of this education were related to the observation of family life in which sex was not taboo.
An important life moment was the conclusion of a marriage, to which the head of the family had to agree.Wedding ceremonies were associated with the ritual drinking of sake. The bride was brought into the husband's family as her full member. The institution of marriage was subordinated to the family, its customs and interests. Many people belonged to the Japanese family, an average of 30-50.
Until the nineteenth century, there were polygamy in this country. Marriage was connected with the social and material position. An expression of this was the hierarchy of wives and concubines, the origin and property of wives. In Japanese culture, sexuality is perceived as a natural phenomenon, one of the spheres of life, and sexual contact is not burdened with a sense of guilt.
In women, small breasts, buttocks and clothing were valued. The forms of politeness are very important - instead of directly expressing wishes, you use comparisons, figurations, symbols, for example, a man who strives for sexual contact speaks of willingness to learn about flowers, etc. The ceremony is replaced by introductory caresses. Much attention is devoted to sexual relations: there are many changing positions and kisses. It is recommended to use aphrodisiacs, a proper diet, various tools, such as condoms with protrusions.
Japanese love art is characterized by: love without inhibitions and feelings of guilt, freedom, knowledge and application of many sexual positions, acceptance of sexual pleasure "in itself", oral contacts, spontaneous disclosure of desire, pleasure, pleasure. Erotic art, not devoid of humor, is full of scenes of sexual content, which are an illustration of erotic stories, a form of instruction, there are many symbols (mainly phallic).
The slogans were prepared on the basis of: Zbigniew Lew-Starowicz: Love and Sex. Encyclopedic dictionary. Wroclaw 1999
