The concept of "pornography" may have emerged in the Edo period when every form of popular culture flourished. All forms of pornography flourished, with the sole exception of figures and statues. This does not mean there were no earlier works of erotica; these early works were by highly literate nobles and were often considered works of art. Japanese mythology, later formulated into the system known as Shinto, makes multiple references to sexuality, but almost always in a positive manner. An act of intercourse, as one leading to the enhancement and flourishing of life, was considered an act of happiness without guilt or sin.
Tentacled creatures appeared in Japanese erotica long before animated pornography; among the most famous of the early instances (and perhaps the first) is a Hokusai woodcut called The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, depicting a woman sexually entwined with a pair of octopuses. This woodcut arose in the Edo period in Japan when Shinto was making a resurgence; the resulting animism and a more playful attitude to sexuality combined powerfully in Hokusai’s piece.
