Utagawa Kunisada(1786-1864)p2104-p2122

Utagawa Kunisada 歌川国貞 ( 1786 -1864 )

Shunga p2104 ~ p2122.

Utagawa Kunisada’s celebrated Koi no Yatsu Fuji -series.

Koi no Yatsu Fuji, published at the New Year in 1837, is a shunga version of Satomi Hakkenden-den, the most representative work of Kyokutei Bakin (also known as Kyokutei Shujin), originally published in 1814-1842. Both its text and illustrations are clever parodies of the original work. The author’s name is given as “Kyokudori Shujin,” a perversion of “Kyokutei Shujin” and is the pseudonym of the gesaku writer Hanagasa Bunkyo. The illustrations are by Bukiyo Matahei, otherwise known as Kunisada. The title is a version of the “eight tufts of hair-amulets (yatsubusa)”of the dogs in the original work, which appear as such in the main text; but for some reason the term is yatsu fuji in the title. The inside title reads Nanso Sattomi Hakken-den.

To give a sense of the nature of the parody involved, the first lines of Bakin’s work read, “When the military prowess of the Shogun in Kyoto and his lieutenant in Kamakura began to decline and the world (yo) fell into bitter conflict, they grew paranoid and took refuge along the Eastern Sea (Tokai)....” The parody begins,“When the armies of concubines (shogun) in Kyoto and prostitutes in Kamakura began to decline and fornicate, the night (yo) was given over to the fires of lust (Tokai)....” The illustrations also cleverly transform the most famous scenes from the original, such as the Battle of Horyu Castle and the parting of Shino and Hamaji, into erotic images. The relationship between Princess Sasehime (Fusehime in the original) and the canine hero Yatusbusa has nothing of the ambiguity it does in the original.

It is an overt depiction of bestial relations, all covertly observed through a telescope ( > p2104 and > p2107 below ! ) by Sasehime’s father Satomi Yoshizane. Although there is no publication date, given that Hakken-den was performed to great acclaim at Edo’s Morita-za under the title of Haken-den Uwasa no Takadono in 1836 (it had already been staged in Osaka in 1834) it seems likely that the parody was produced to take advantage of the Kabuki-version publicity for New Year’s of 1837.

The title Koi no Yatsu Fuji is extremely difficult to translate and is emblematic of the often numerous layers of meaning found in shunga book and print titles. Literally it could be translated as The Love of Yatsufuji. But yatsu in this case also connotes ‘eight’ and therein lies the connection with the subjectmatter. Koi no Yatsu Fuj is a shunga parody of the serialized best-seller Nanso Satomi hakkenden (The Legend of the Eight Dog Heroes, 1814-42) by Takizawa (Kyokutei) Bakin (1767-1848). The name of the auhor, Kyokudori Shujin, is a corruption of Kyokutei Shujin, a pseudonym of Bakin and of the gokan author Hanagasa Bunkyo (1785-1860?). The attribution of the illustrations to Kunisada is certain because ‘Bukiyo Matahei’ is one of Kunisada’s pseudonyms. It appears twice in this book.

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Famous Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Bestiality - Sex With Dog – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage (on the fur of the dog and the collar of the woman’s kimono!) and metallic pigments.

Fusehine is having sex with the canine hero Yatsufusa, a small desk with writing implements and scrolls appears to the left. This rare design features a circular frame displaying the view of a “spy“ seen through a telescope.

On this design Timon Screech remarks: “...Bakin’s story included a moment when Satomi Yoshizane looked down from Mt Toyama and saw his daughter, Princess Fuse (whose name literally means ‘lying down’) is engaged in coitus with a dog – justified by Bakin’s title, although he had not written about real canines but about men with the character ‘dog’ in their names.

References:	p.193 (Ill.73b.) in Japanese Erotic Fantasies by Chris Uhlenbeck.
	p.224 (Ill.109) in Sex and the Floating World by Timon Screech.
	p.25 (Ill.48) in Encyclopedia of Japanese Erotic Art: Shunga (Vol.2) by Ofer Shagan.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

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Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Dog Hero Assaults Princess – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition.Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

The dog hero Yatsufusa forces himself upon princess Fushemine. Look for the wonderful embossing technique used on the dog’s fur !

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

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Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Lesbian – General Making Love With Two Servants - c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

General Satomi Yoshizane is making love to two female servants on a large gold colored cloth with floral motif while watching through a giant telescope. An amusing detail is the suprised man in the background scratching his head.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

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Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – General With Spy Glass – c.1837.

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Description:

The text on this print explains that General Satomi Yoshizane is looking through his spy-glass towards a cave on Mount Fuji. In the Eight Dog Heroes tale, Satomi Yoshizane is the Lord of Awa and the father of Princess Fuse (Fusehine). In a convoluted chain of events Fusehine marries the brave family dog Yatsufusa and eventually gives birth to a litter of eight pups, each of whom bears the character of inu, or ‘dog’, in their names. What Yoshizane observes in his spy-glass is illustrated in the following plate (see P2104!!).

References:	p.192 (Ill.73a) in Japanese Erotic Fantasies by Chris Uhlenbeck.
	p.224 (Ill.108) in Sex and the Floating World by Timon Screech.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

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Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Tattooed Villain – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

An innocent love-play behind a mosquito-net is crudely disturbed by a heavily tattooed rogue who’s grapping the kimono of the terrified woman.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books

p2109 - €780 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Four Copulating Couple – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

Terrific design featuring four intimate couples in various poses.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

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Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Unusual Perspective – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

A scene displaying the activities within the dorms of a brothel. In the foreground a servant by an impatient customer while in the background, depicted from an vertical perspective, a couple is making love.... Their faces are not visible to the viewer.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

p2111 - €785 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Oiran In Tight Embrace – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

A high-class courtesan (as indicated by the luxurious hair-pins), in Japanese called oiran, is depicted in a firm embrace with a regular client.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

p2112 - €715 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – On Verandah – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

After dinner a couple is relaxing on a verandah by night.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

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Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Over The Shoulder – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

A courtesan is hanging over the shoulders of a client while he is stroking her clitoris.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books

p2114 - €735 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Drinking Sake – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

A townsman is taking a zip.. from his sake cup while making love to his ecstatic lover who’s biting in a cloth in total excitement.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

p2115 - €835 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Aristocratic Samurai – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

A lustful (look for the ...put out...tongue!) aristocratic samurai is making love to a woman of the same descent (most probably Princess Fusehine).

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

p2116 - €715 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – From Behind – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

A husband is taking his wife from the rear. It’s clear they are married because the woman has black teeth.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

p2117 - - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Mosquito Net – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

Behind a mosquito net a couple have an intimate encounter while a samurai who’s standing in the door-post, looks on enviously.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

p2118 - - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Secretive Couple – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

A man is suspiciously looking behind him while making advances to his mistress.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

p2119 - - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Samurai Battling Three Female Samurai – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

Spectacular design with a man battling against three swordswomen on a roof. The dynamics of the scene are emphasized by the portrayal of one of the women partly out of the frame and the flowing horizontal lines of the roof.

Reference: p.163 (Ill.16) in Encyclopedia of Japanese Erotic Art: Shunga (Vol.2) by Ofer Shagan. .

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

p2120 - €615 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Seven Women And Two Men – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 11 1/3” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

In heaven two men have an encounter seven women .

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

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Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Female Ghost – c.1837.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Date: c.1837 (New Year).
Size: 5 1/2” x 9 2/5” inches. Series: Koi no Yatsu Fuji (lit.‘The Love of Yatsufuji’).
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Some very tiny (professionally) repaired wormholes
otherwise fine state. Excellent use of gauffrage and metallic pigments.

A striking scene featuring a female ghost appearance.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.

p2122 - €365 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Kunisada – Eight Dog Heroes – Forceful Man – c.1837.

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Description:

After dinner a man is forcing himself upon a woman.

This series is discussed in detail by the prominent shunga expert Yoshikazu Hayashi in The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga (Vol.6) which includes all the illustrated pages in these books.