p2836-p2856.Yanagawa-Shigenobu.

Yanagawa Shigenobu 柳川重信 : 1787 - 1832.

Shunga p2836 ~ p2856

The Floating Bridge of Heaven.

The eminent shunga authority Hayashi Yoshikazu attributed the work to Shigenobu based on the assumption that the signature ‘Ikkasai Sukinobu’, which appears on one of the plates, is a pseudonym of the artist. The title Ama no ukibashi (The Floating Bridge of Heaven) is a reference to a bridge famous in Japanese creation mythologyas the place where the gods Izanagi and his wife and sister Izanami shaped the world. Izanagi threw a spear into the sea and when pulled out, the water dripping from it formed the first island of the Japanese archipelago. Izanagi and Izanami were also the first couple to have sex and procreate. In this series, the creator couple and ‘The Floating Bridge of Heaven constitute the frontispiece illustration (see P2855 below!). This is followed by an introduction which alludes to this legend.

Details about Shigenobu’s life and career are hazy. He seems that initially he was self-taught. Unsubstantiated anecdotes state that he later met Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850), who facilitated Shigenobu’s entrance into the studio of his own teacher Katsushika Hokusai. At first relations between Hokusai and Shigenobu were strained, but eventually Shigenobu married Hokusai’s eldest daughter Miyo and was adopted into the family. In 1822, he travelled to Osaka, where he stayed for three years and while there he designed a few square surimono. Following his return to Edo in 1825, he resumed his life as a book illustrator and print designer. Bijinga (beauty print) represent the majority of his work (excerpt from the catalogue Japanese Erotic Fantasies, Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period by Chris Uhlenbeck).

p2836 - €885 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Shocked By Lightning – c.1830.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Yanagawa Shigenobu (1787–1832). Shunga (literally: ‘Spring picture’).
Date: 1830 (Year of the Tiger). Size: 13” x 9 3/4” inches. Fine impression, very good color and condition.
Series: Ama no ukibashi (The Floating Bridge of Heaven). Minor marks and flaws. Magnificent metallic (silver and gold) and gauffrage printing techniques have been applied to various areas of the print.

“A darkened room is partly lighted by the lightning outside. Two frightened women and one male become visible veiled by a diaphanous mosquito net. The man seems to make good use of the young women’s fearful attitude towards the heavy thunder.”

Reference: p.179 (Fig.66c) in Japanese Erotic Fantasies by C. Uhlenbeck and M. Winkel.

p2837 - €635 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Cleaning Genitals – c.1830.

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Description:

“After the erotic intermezzo the two protagonists are suspiciously cleaning their genitals. A tetsubin (a Japanese iron pot) burns on a wood burning stove behind them. In the back hangs a musical instrument called shamisen.”

p2838 - €575 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Relaxing Courtesans And Insecure Client – c.1830.

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Description:

“Two courtesans sitting at a stove are interrupted by a confused whoremonger.”

p2839 - €575 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Insecure Adolescent – c.1830.

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Description:

“A shy and reluctant adolescent male is tempted by an experienced married (black teeth) mature.”

p2840 - €850 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Bad Odor – c.1830.

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Description:

“A humurous visual account by Shigenobu on the crowded illegal brothels which lacked privacy and had very little room – at best prostitutes and their clients were divided by sliding doors or a screen.”

Reference: p.179 (Fig.66c) in Japanese Erotic Fantasies by C. Uhlenbeck and M. Winkel

p2841 - €635 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Relaxing Woman – c.1830.

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Description:

“During a tea ceremony a couple has decided to get intimate. In the background lay all the attributes of their previous activities. Two cups float in a bowl with hot water to help keep the temperature of the tea constant.”

p2842 - €635 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Tobacco Pipe – c.1830.

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Description:

“A modest scene depicting a woman holding a tobacco pouch in one hand and in the other a pipe while being observed by her lover. Striking is the blue door in the background featuring origami-shaped figures.”

p2843 - €685 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Red Lantern – c.1830.

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Description:

“Underneath a big red lantern a merchant is making love to a courtesan who is leaning on a box wrapped up in blue cloth.”

p2844 - €750 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Aristocratic Couple On Verandah – c.1830.

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Description:

“During springtime an aristocratic are making love on a balcony. The kimono of the woman displays intricate motifs including flying dragons. Both are wearing typical aristocratic headdresses.”

A superb scene !

p2845 - €600 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Secret Encounter – c.1830.

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Description:

“A secretive hasty encounter of two secret lovers with the male’s genitals only partly visible. The man’s kimono features bats. In the background outside behind the couple is a drinking water well.”

p2846 - €600 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Sneaky Samurai – c.1830.

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Description:

“A sly samurai, his sword laying behind him, carefully approaches a woman who is reading a book. This could very well be a shungabook as her aroused facial expression suggests.”

p2847 - - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga Masterpiece – Shigenobu – Homoerotic Priest And Young Male – c.1830.

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Description:

“The chief priest of a large temple in Edo ejoys the services of a male prostitute (kagema) in a private room in a kagema teahouse. The youth wears female attire and has his hair dressed like a woman. The kimono hanging over the folding screen in the background displays swallows.”

Reference:	p.178 (Fig.66a) in Japanese Erotic Fantasies by C. Uhlenbeck and M. Winkel.
	p.33 (Fig.2) The Representation of Male-male Sex in Japanese Erotic Books by Ellis Tinois.
	p.320 (Fig.5) in Japanese Erotic Art, the Hidden World of Shunga by Shagan Ofer.

Among the very best homoerotic shunga designs !

> Click here for more homoerotic shunga scenes.

p2848 - €725 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Tight Embrace – c.1830.

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Description:

“A colorful design of an intimate couple in the 69-pose. They are depicted in an unconventional manner from above right to.below left. There’s a lot of emphasis in the contrast on the various patterns and colors of the garments, cloths, blankets...etc.”

p2849 - €625 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Under The Blanket – c.1830.

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Description:

“A humorous portrayal (with the male’s face not visible) of a couple having sex underneath a large blanket.”

p2850 - €750 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Completely Naked Couple – c.1830.

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Description:

“A married couple make love in the nude on a green mattress. Their insatiable and hasty lust is indicated by the used tissues surrounding them and the toppled lacquered pillows.”

p2851 - €885 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Rare Shunga – Shigenobu – Onnagata – Hermaphrodite – c.1830.

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Description:

“A superbly enigmatic image of an unusual intimate encounter. A mature courtesan is seducing a reluctant (look at the amusing facial expression!) young male. The man is either a kagema (a male prostitute who often wore female clothing), an onnagata (male actor performing female roles) or a hermaphrodite (the striking breasts!). In the background lays an opened shungabook that most probably functioned as an introduction for the young man.”

Very rare !

p2852 - €625 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Wetting Fingers – Foo Dog – c.1830.

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Description:

“A young man is preparing himself for penetration by wetting his fingers. The brass kettle besides them has Foo dog-shaped feet.”

p2853 - €650 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Intertwined – c.1830.

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Description:

“A completely intertwined intimate couple are making love. The woman passionately cuddles his neck.”

p2854 - €335 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Mandarin Ducks – c.1830.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Yanagawa Shigenobu (1787–1832). Shunga (literally: ‘Spring picture’).
Date: 1830 (Year of the Tiger). Size: 7” x 9 3/4” inches. Fine impression, very good color and condition.
Series: Ama no ukibashi (The Floating Bridge of Heaven). Minor marks and flaws. Magnificent metallic (silver and gold) and gauffrage printing techniques have been applied to various areas of the print.

“Peaceful image of a male and female Mandarin duck in a stream.”

p2855 - €435 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Izanagi And Izanami – Wagtail – c.1830.

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Description:

Original antique Japanese color woodblock Yanagawa Shigenobu (1787–1832). Shunga (literally: ‘Spring picture’).
Date: 1830 (Year of the Tiger). Size: 7” x 9 3/4“ inches. Fine impression, very good color and condition.
Series: Ama no ukibashi (The Floating Bridge of Heaven). Minor marks and flaws. Magnificent metallic (silver and gold) and gauffrage printing techniques have been applied to various areas of the print.

“A well-known portrayal of the gods Izanagi and Izanami on the Floating Bridge of Heaven watching a wagtail.”

Timon Screech on this design: “Japanese traditions established an immediate link between the world’s creation and human sexuality. The canonical story told of Izanagi and Izanami in the eighth generation of gods. They were the first to be visible and the first to procreate by sexual union. The narrative appears in the eighth-century Chronicles of Japan (Nihon-gi), where it states how Izanagi stood on the Floating Bridge of Heaven and dipped his ‘jewelled spear’ (uobatsura) into the formless water, shook it and withdrew, the falling drops coagulating into Ono Gorojima, that is, the Japanese archipelago – the first land. It had always been accepted that the ‘spear’ was his phallus. Importantly, although the female Izanami was beside him, Izanagi did not create land through intercourse (which he was still ignorant of) but by masturbation. The god only then sees a wagtail’s rear movements and understands how to copulate.” (p.263/264 in Sex and the Floating World, Erotic Images in Japan 1700-1820 ).

Reference: p.264 (Fig.133) in Sex and the Floating World, Erotic Images in Japan 1700-1820 by Timon Screech.

p2856 - €350 - US$ > Currency Converter. Contact Info >

Shunga – Shigenobu – Elderly Gods – c.1830.

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Description:

“Amusing scene of the gods Izanagi and Izanami as elderly couple.”

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