p1632  -  €1685    -    US$ > Currency Converter.              Contact Info >

Rare Masterpiece Keisai Eisen - Group Sex - c.1822.

p1631  -     -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunimaru (1794-1829). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1810s. 
Koban size: 6 1/3" x 4 1/2" inches. Excellent impression, color and condition. 
One very small repair (Barely visible!).

An ama (awabi or abalone) diver, tied down to an anchor, is being raped by a boatman.

Very rare piece !

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Rare Shigenobu - Homo Erotic - Monk With His Young Male Lover - c.1830.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Yanagawa Shigenobu (1787-1832). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: Year of the Tiger (1830). Size: 13" x 9 3/4" inches. Series: ' The Floating Bridge of Heaven' (Ama no ukibashi). 
Fine impression (with gauffrage and metallic pigments), very good color and near fine condition. Minor marks and flaws only.

A Buddhist monk makes love to his male najimi (regular partner), or to an onnagata (a male kabuki actor specializing in
female roles). Their robes hang over a six-panel folding screen in the background; a stuffed roll pillow (kukuri makura) has 
fallen off the bedding.

References: 
p.178 (Ill.66a) in 'Japanese Erotic Fantasies, Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period' by Chris Uhlenbeck and Margarita Winkel.
p.44-47 in 'Shunga, erotic Art of Japan by Heidelberg.

A highly coveted piece by Hokusai's talented pupil !

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Wonderful Japanese Erotic Scroll - Early 20th C. - 12 Painted Scenes - Anonymous.

Description:

Antique original Japanese scroll with 12 painted scenes by Anonymous artist. Date: Early 20th Century. 
Size: 103 1/2" x 7" inches (263cm x 18cm). Depth: 1 1/4"inches (3cm). Ink and pigment on silk. 
Fine condition and color. Slight creasing, otherwise magnificent state !

Highly decorative scroll depicting 12 attractive erotic scenes including a masturbating woman using a harikata (dildo).

p1606  -  €985  -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Famous Comic Design - Old Monk And Wetnurse - Kunisada - Genji Of The East - c.1837.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1837. 
Obon size: 13 1/2" x 9 3/4" inches. Series:' Genji of the East, Charm of Flowers and Birds (Kachõ yojõ Azuma Genji).
Excellent impression (with extensive use of gauffrage and silver and gold pigments), fine color and very good condition. 
Minor wear and soiling. Minor marks and flaws. The printing of this shunga is of an extremely high quality with  excellent
use of metallic pigments and gauffrage.

A famous comic love scene between a wetnurse and an old monk who is paying a visit to her house; the nurse, entwined with him at the climactic moment, is twisting his nose, while the monk is trying to tear her hand away and carry on making love.

Reference: Illustrated on p. 402 in 'Poem of the Pillow and Other Stories by Utamaro, Hokusai, Kuniyoshi and Other Artists of the Floating World' by Gian Carlo Calza.

The 'Genji of the East (Azuma Genji)' -series belongs to the best shungawork Kunisada designed and were probably commisioned by a wealthy merchant. One feels that these are brief and very intense love scenes, judging from the character's facial expressions and the muscle tension in their bodies.

>  You can find more designs of this series on the following page (from p1077...etc.)

p1605  -  €985  -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Famous Design - Masturbating Woman - Kunisada - Genji Of The East - c.1837.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1837. 
Obon size: 13 2/3" x 9 3/4" inches. Series:' Genji of the East, Charm of Flowers and Birds (Kachõ yojõ Azuma Genji).
Excellent impression (with extensive use of gauffrage and silver and gold pigments), fine color and very good condition. 
Very small repair. Minor wear, staining and soiling. Minor marks and flaws. The printing of this shunga is of an extremely
high quality with  excellent use of metallic pigments and gauffrage.

A magnificent undisguised image of a masturbating woman. 
The beholder almost gets the feeling he's watching a peepshow.

The 'Genji of the East (Azuma Genji)' -series belongs to the best shungawork Kunisada designed and were probably commisioned by a wealthy merchant. One feels that these are brief and very intense love scenes, judging from the character's facial expressions and the muscle tension in their bodies.

>  You can find more designs of this series on the following page (from p1077...etc.)

p1604  -  €865  -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Crude Lover - Aristocratic - Kunisada - Genji Of The East - c.1837.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1837. 
Obon size: 13 1/2" x 9 3/4" inches. Series:' Genji of the East, Charm of Flowers and Birds (Kachõ yojõ Azuma Genji). Excellent impression (with extensive use of gauffrage and silver and gold pigments), fine color and very good condition. 
A very tiny wormhole (above the head of the man in the rocks), minor wear and soiling. Minor marks and flaws. 
The printing of this shunga is of an extremely high quality with  excellent use of metallic pigments and gauffrage.

A woman of high-class status is making love to her crude lover (look for his lustful facial expression!) who's uninhibitedly licking her face while penetrating her vagina with his hand.

The 'Genji of the East (Azuma Genji)' -series belongs to the best shungawork Kunisada designed and were probably commisioned by a wealthy merchant. One feels that these are brief and very intense love scenes, judging from the character's facial expressions and the muscle tension in their bodies.

>  You can find more designs of this series on the following page (from p1077...etc.)

p1603  -  €885  -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Ejaculation - Kunisada - Genji Of The East - c.1837.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1837. 
Obon size: 13 1/3" x 9 3/4" inches. Series:' Genji of the East, Charm of Flowers and Birds (Kachõ yojõ Azuma Genji).
Excellent impression (with extensive use of gauffrage and silver and gold pigments), fine color and very good condition.
Minor wear and soiling. Very small thinning spot in the right corner. Minor marks and flaws. 
The printing of this shunga is of an extremely high quality with  excellent use of metallic pigments and gauffrage.

Unusual scene portraying a man who's pointing his penis at the moment of ejaculation to his lover's face.

The 'Genji of the East (Azuma Genji)' -series belongs to the best shungawork Kunisada designed and were probably commisioned by a wealthy merchant. One feels that these are brief and very intense love scenes, judging from the character's facial expressions and the muscle tension in their bodies.

>  You can find more designs of this series on the following page (from p1077...etc.)

p1602  -    -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Aristocratic Couple - Kunisada - Genji Of The East - c.1837.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1837. 
Obon size: 13 1/2" x 9 3/4" inches. Series:' Genji of the East, Charm of Flowers and Birds (Kachõ yojõ Azuma Genji).
Excellent impression (with extensive use of gauffrage and silver and gold pigments), fine color and very good condition.
Minor wear and soiling. Minor marks and flaws. The printing of this shunga is of an extremely high quality with excellent
use of metallic pigments and gauffrage.

Depiction of an intimate aristocratic couple in an ecstatic embrace. The man wears a rope through his hair which indicates his high-class status.

Hairstyles in ancient Japan were of great importance. They were an indication of a person's place in society and also their marital status. Japanese ancient hairstyles could command how others should behave around you and the amount of respect you could demand. Nowadays, Japanese hairstyles are seen as a fashion ornament but in ancient Japan, hairstyles were elemental to the culture and everyday life.

The 'Genji of the East (Azuma Genji)' -series belongs to the best shungawork Kunisada designed and were probably commisioned by a wealthy merchant. One feels that these are brief and very intense love scenes, judging from the character's facial expressions and the muscle tension in their bodies.

>  You can find more designs of this series on the following page (from p1077...etc.)

    p1601   -      -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Large Anatomical Close-Up - Kunisada - Genji Of The East - c.1837.

> Click on the Picture.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1837. Okubi-e size: 10" x 7 1/3" inches. 
Series:' Genji of the East, Charm of Flowers and Birds (Kachõ yojõ Azuma Genji). 
Excellent impression (with extensive use of gauffrage and silver and gold pigments), fine color and very good condition. Two very tiny wormholes (almost invisible!), some very tiny binding holes (border only!), minor wear and soiling, thinly backed. Minor marks and flaws. 
The printing of this  shunga is of an extremely high quality with  excellent use of metallic pigments and gauffrage.

The Genji of the East -series by Kunisada is well known for the several unusual, close-up designs in a style that was never before seen prior to this series. These unique designs deviate from the traditional style of shunga, excluding the faces and figures of the lovers and focusing in whole on their sexual anatomy. This design includes a magnifying glass cartouche that offers an interior view of their coupling.


The 'Genji of the East (Azuma Genji)'- series belongs to the best shungawork Kunisada designed and were probably commisioned by a wealthy merchant. One feels that these are brief and very intense love scenes, judging from the character's facial expressions and the muscle tension in their bodies.

>  You can find more designs of this series on the following page (from p1077...etc.)

p1600  -  €775   -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Exquisite Okubi-e Portrait - Kunisada - Genji Of The East - c.1837.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1837. Okubi-e size: 10 1/10" x 7 1/3" inches. 
Series:' Genji of the East, Charm of Flowers and Birds (Kachõ yojõ Azuma Genji). 
Excellent impression (with extensive use of gauffrage and silver and gold pigments), fine color and very good condition. Some very tiny binding holes (border only!), one tiny wormhole left margin, minor wear and soiling, thinly backed. Minor marks and flaws.The printing of this shunga is of an extremely high quality with excellent use of metallic pigments and gauffrage.

>  You can find more designs of this series on the following page (from p1077...etc.)

A magnificent okubi-e ( close-up ) portrait of a languised married ( indicated by the black teeth ) woman who's holding 
a handkerchief between her teeth. In Ukiyo-e this symbolized the longing for a renewed passionate love.

 p1592  -  €475  -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Keisai Eisen - Ward Off - c.1825.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Date: c.1825. Series: Tama no Utena.  Size: 10 1/3" x 8 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Very minor marks and flaws only.  Wonderful use of gauffrage, mica details and metallic pigments. In this print, the woman seems little interested in the sexual advances of the man, and she tries to ward him off. Eisen was one the dominant Ukiyo-e masters during the 'decadent' Bunsei Period (1818-1830).

 p1591  -  €465  -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Rare Keisai Eisen - Sleeping Housewife - Sneaky Husband - c.1825.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Date: c.1825. Series: Tama no Utena.  Size: 10 1/3" x 8 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Very minor marks and flaws only. Wonderful use of gauffrage, mica details and metallic pigments. A man is secretly making love to his sleeping wife. Eisen was one the dominant Ukiyo-e masters during the 'decadent' Bunsei Period (1818-1830).

 p1590  -     -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Extremely Rare Keisai Eisen - Lesbian - Masturbating Female Lovers - c.1825.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Date: c.1825. Series: Tama no Utena. Size: 10 1/3" x 8 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Very minor marks and flaws only. Wonderful use of gauffrage, mica details and metallic pigments. Marvellous depiction of two lesbian women secretly masturbating. Eisen was one the dominant Ukiyo-e masters during the 'decadent' Bunsei Period (1818-1830).

p1589  -     -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Keisai Eisen - Orgasm - c.1825.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Date: c.1825. Series: Tama no Utena.  Size: 10 1/3" x 8 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Very minor marks and flaws only. Wonderful use of gauffrage, mica details and metallic pigments. A couple experiencing an orgasm in a yellow room. Eisen was one the dominant Ukiyo-e masters during the 'decadent' Bunsei Period (1818-1830).

p1588  -    -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Keisai Eisen - Yellow Blanket - Samurai - c.1825.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Date: c.1825. Series: Tama no Utena.  Size: 10 1/3" x 8 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Very minor marks and flaws only. Wonderful use of gauffrage, mica details and metallic pigments. A samurai penetrates his lover in the open-air on a yellow blanket. Eisen was one the dominant Ukiyo-e masters during the 'decadent' Bunsei Period (1818-1830).

p1587  -  €485  -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Keisai Eisen - Breastfeeding - Wet-Nurse - c.1825.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Date: c.1825. Series: Tama no Utena.  Size: 10 1/3" x 8 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Very minor marks and flaws only. Wonderful use of gauffrage, mica details and metallic pigments. A man makes advances to a mother or wet-nurse suckling a child. Eisen was one the dominant Ukiyo-e masters during the 'decadent' Bunsei Period (1818-1830).

p1586  -  €335   -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Keisai Eisen - Okubi-e - Beauty - c.1825.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Date: c.1825. 
Series: Tama no Utena. Tobira-e size: 8 1/2" x  5 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. 
Very minor marks and flaws only. Wonderful use of gauffrage, mica details and metallic pigments.

Beautiful okubi-e (close-up) portrait of a beauty.

Eisen was one the dominant Ukiyo-e masters during the 'decadent' Bunsei Period (1818-1830).

p1585  -      -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Keisai Eisen - Anatomical Close-Up - Orgasm - c.1825.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Date: c.1825. 
Series: Tama no Utena. Tobira-e size: 8 1/2" x  5 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. 
Very minor marks and flaws only. Wonderful use of gauffrage, mica details and metallic pigments.

Wonderful close-up depiction of an orgasm.

Eisen was one the dominant Ukiyo-e masters during the 'decadent' Bunsei Period (1818-1830).

 p1584  -     -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Important Kikugawa Eizan Design - Spring Pictures - c.1815.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Kikugawa Eizan (1787-1867). Date: c.1815. Oban yoko-e size: 14 3/4" x 9 3/4" inches.Series: 'Haru no raku' (Spring Pictures). Fine impression, very good color and condition. Very slight vertical centerfold. One small wormhole repair, very tiny paper loss due to the effect of the use of metallic pigments. Very minor wear and soiling, minor marks and flaws. Wonderful use of gold and silver pigments, black lacquer and gauffrage.

This composition is a riot of colour and contrasting textile designs -- it marks a complete break with the past. 
The increasing role of textiles as compositional elements is also apparent in non-shunga prints of this period, that is, from around 1810 to 1820. Depicted is a courtesan and her young patron. Their colourful kimino and patterned bedding decorate the screen forcing the beholder's eyes to focus on the exposed part between them. Both Eizan and his pupil Eisen excelled in the depiction of kimono patterns, and it is not clear if this indicates a shift in the function of shunga. 
It would be interesting to know if textile producers or dyers' shops commisioned sets like these.

Reference: p.153 (Ill.52b) in Japanese Erotic Fantasies by C. Uhlenbeck and M. Winkel

One of Eizan's most famous oban designs !

p1578  -     -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Rare Utagawa School

Ama Diver With Stingray - Bestiality - c.1855.

Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa school. Date: c.1855. Size: 7" x 4 2/3" inches. 
Fine impression, very good color and condition. Some small binding holes, minor staining, 
wear and soiling, marks and flaws. Wonderful use of gauffrage and 'bokashi'-shading.   

Below a depiction of two awabi (aka. abalone or ama) divers making love in the water. 

Above an extremely rare scene of a male ama diver getting intimate with a stingray !

> Click here for interesting articles on shunga.

 p1577  -  €350  -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Koikawa Shozan - Climactic Moment - c.1860 - Meiji Period.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Insuitei Shujin a.k.a. Koikawa Shozan (1821-1907). Date: c.1860s.  Size: 8 3/4" x 7 1/10" inches. Series: 'Neya no nakadachi'.  Excellent impression, color and fine condition.  Thin backing. Very minor marks and flaws. Wonderful use of gold and silver pigments, bokashi shading and gauffrage. Nice depiction of a couple experiencing a climactic moment. This scenes are inspired by Utagawa Kunimaro's 1850s shungabook series 'Nyogo no Shima (Takara) Irifune' (The Island of Women and the Treasure Ship). The designs are characterized by their western 'presences', like those of the sailing vessels in the backgrounds.  The story is about three sailors who got on board at Shinaga, but their boat got shipwrecked and they drifted to an island inhabitated by exotic beauties.

p1574  -     -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Rare Koikawa Shozan - Foursome - c.1860 - Meiji Period.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Insuitei Shujin a.k.a. Koikawa Shozan (1821-1907). Date: c.1860s.  Size: 8 3/4" x 7 1/10" inches. Series: 'Neya no nakadachi'. Excellent impression, color and fine condition.  Thin backing. Very minor marks and flaws. Wonderful use of gold and silver pigments, bokashi shading and gauffrage. One man making love to four excited women. This scenes are inspired by Utagawa Kunimaro's 1850s shungabook series 'Nyogo no Shima (Takara) Irifune' (The Island of Women and the Treasure Ship). The designs are characterized by their western 'presences', like those of the sailing vessels in the backgrounds.  The story is about three sailors who got on board at Shinaga, but their boat got shipwrecked and they drifted to an island inhabitated by exotic beauties.

p1573  -      -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Koikawa Shozan - Orgy - c.1860 - Meiji Period.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Insuitei Shujin a.k.a. Koikawa Shozan (1821-1907). Date: c.1860s.  Size: 8 3/4" x 7 1/10" inches. Series: 'Neya no nakadachi'.  Excellent impression, color and fine condition.  Thin backing. Very minor marks and flaws. Wonderful use of gold and silver pigments, bokashi shading and gauffrage. Magnificent orgy scene involving two men and four women. This scenes are inspired by Utagawa Kunimaro's  1850s shungabook series 'Nyogo no Shima (Takara) Irifune' (The Island of Women and the Treasure Ship). The designs are characterized by their western 'presences', like those of the sailing vessels in the backgrounds.  The story is about three sailors who got on board at Shinaga, but their boat got shipwrecked and they drifted to an island inhabitated by exotic beauties. > Click here to find the Kunimaro design it was inspired on !

 p1571  -     -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Koikawa Shozan - Western Influences - Unusual Pose - c.1860 - Meiji Period.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Insuitei Shujin a.k.a. Koikawa Shozan (1821-1907). Date: c.1860s.  Size: 8 3/4" x 7 1/10" inches. Series: 'Neya no nakadachi'.  Excellent impression, color and fine condition.  Thin backing. Very minor marks and flaws. Wonderful use of gold and silver pigments, bokashi shading and gauffrage. Completely naked couple in an unusual intimate pose.  Look for the western influences in the depiction of the temples in the background! This scenes are inspired by Utagawa Kunimaro's 1850s shungabook series 'Nyogo no Shima (Takara) Irifune' (The Island of Women and the Treasure Ship). The designs are characterized by their western 'presences', like those of the sailing vessels in the backgrounds.  The story is about three sailors who got on board at Shinaga, but their boat got shipwrecked and they drifted to an island inhabitated by exotic beauties.

p1569  -  €385  -  US$ > Currency Converter.        Contact Info >

Rare Koikawa Shozan - Mirror - Narcissistic Lover- c.1860 - Meiji Period.

Description: Antique Japanese color woodblock Insuitei Shujin a.k.a. Koikawa Shozan (1821-1907). Date: c.1860s.  Size: 8 3/4" x 7 1/10" inches. Series: 'Neya no nakadachi'.  Excellent impression, color and fine condition.  Thin backing. Very minor marks and flaws. Wonderful use of gold and silver pigments, bokashi shading and gauffrage. A narcissistic lover is looking at his own performance in a mirror. This scenes are inspired by Utagawa Kunimaro's 1850s shungabook series 'Nyogo no Shima (Takara) Irifune' (The Island of Women and the Treasure Ship). The designs are characterized by their western 'presences', like those of the sailing vessels in the backgrounds.  The story is about three sailors who got on board at Shinaga, but their boat got shipwrecked and they drifted to an island inhabitated by exotic beauties.

p3369   -   €475  -  US$  > Currency Converter.           Contact Info >

Utagawa Kunisada – Freak Show – c.1842.