the dream of the fisherman's wife

The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife is an erotic woodcut made circa 1820 by Hokusai(the original creator of manga) perhaps the first instance of tentacled creatures appearing in Japanese erotica. It features a woman entwined and sexually molested by a pair of octopuses. She is kissing a small octopus, while a larger one is performing cunnilingus on her. This woodcut arose in the Edo period in Japan when Shinto was making a resurgence and the resulting Animism and a more playful attitude to sexuality combined powerfully in Hokusai's piece. It is a celebrated example of shunga and has been reworked by a number of artists including:

Victorian artist David Laity reworked the woodcut into a painting of the same name.
Masami Teraoka brought the image up to date with his 2001 work "Sarah and Octopus/Seventh Heaven part of his "Waves and Plagues" collection.

The Dream Of The Fisherman's Wife

Further Reading