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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa school. Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1830s. 
Koban size: 4 4/5" x 3 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. 
Minor marks and flaws.

Extremely rare !

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa school. Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1830s. 
Koban size: 4 4/5" x 3 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. 
Minor marks and flaws.

Shunga designs depicting bestiality are very hard to find !

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa school. Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1830s. 
Koban size: 4 4/5" x 3 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. 
One tiny wormhole repair otherwise in a fine state.

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A very rare find !

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa school. Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1840. 
Koban size: 4 4/5" x 3 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. 
One very tiny wormhole repair otherwise in an excellent state. A magnificently detailed design.

Extremely rare !

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa school. Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1840. 
Koban size: 4 4/5" x 3 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. 
One very tiny wormhole repair otherwise in an excellent state. A superbly printed design.

Keisai Eisen ( 1790-1848 )

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1862). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1838. 
Size: 11" x 8 1/3" inches. Fine impression, color and very good condition. Very minor wear, soiling, thinning,
marks and flaws. Nicely detailed line carving with beautiful printed details such as metallic pigments.

Click here for more information on > lesbian sex scenes in shunga.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Kikugawa Eizan (1787-1867). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1840s. Oban yoko-e size: 15" x 10 1/10" inches. Very good impression, color and condition. 
Minor wear and soiling. Slight vertical folding mark. Backing. Minor marks and flaws. Full size.

An erotic rendezvous at the bath. Haga Toru (1996: 97-102) explains that love-making in Edo period prints is often precarious and that artists vied with one another in inventing locations, moments and positions that expressed the sentiment of kiwadoi - the 'dangerous, risky, or pressing'. The bath, generally a public place, is a typical example of such a location: the threat of being caught and the possibilities open for voyeurism are essential for creating the sexual tension.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1842. 
Hanshibon size: 11 1/3" x 9 1/2" inches. Series: 'Shiki no sugatami (Viewing Forms in the Four Seasons)'. 
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Very minor marks and flaws. 
Wonderful printed details such as metallic pigments and embossing.

Click here for more info on > The Story of Otomi and Yosaburô

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1842. 
Hansibon size: 11 1/2" x 9 1/2" inches. Series: 'Shiki no sugatami (Viewing Forms in the Four Seasons)'. 
Title: ' Lovers and Sleeping Husband '. Fine impression, color and near fine condition. 
Very minor marks and flaws. Wonderful printed details such as metallic pigments and embossing.

About this design:

Reference: Illus.49 on p.127 in 'Sex and the Floating World - Erotic Images in Japan 1700-1820' by Timon Screech.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1842. 
Hanshibon size: 11 2/5" x 9 1/3" inches. Series: 'Shiki no sugatami (Viewing Forms in the Four Seasons)'. 
Fine impression, color and near fine condition. Wonderful printed details such as metallic pigments and embossing.

> More info on lesbian designs in shunga !

Meiji Shunga - Terazaki Kogyo

Seaside Ecstacy -  c.1899.

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Kawanabe Kyõsai  (1831-1889)

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Ito Seiu - Rare Sado Erotic Painting - 

Kinbaku - Bondage - 1940s.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1825. 
Oban yoko-e size: 13 1/2" x 9" inches. Signature: Although shunga's are generally unsigned one print of this set bears the ‘hidden’ signature: Keisai. From an untitled series. Fine impression, very good color and condition. 
A faint centerfold and a few faint spots on the bottom and the right margin. Wonderful printed details such as metallic pigments and embossing.

A strikingly simple composition of an intimate couple kissing passionately in front of a folding screen depicting a bird-of-paradise that seems to support the belief by Tanaka Yuko that the placement of textiles is deliberately used to frame genitalia (Tanaka 1996; see also Chris Uhlenbeck's article 'Erotic Fantasies of Japan: The World of Shunga').

On Eisen's oban series:

The popularity of shunga prints published in oban-size albums of twelve began to wane sometime around the time of Kitagawa Utamaro's death in 1806. In about 1828 their production came to a virtual halt. It is difficult to explain why this happened, Perhaps it had to do with the growing importance of text in erotic books.

In other words, the oban format would no longer have been suitable if the stage for erotic art was increasingly the illustrated novel. Eisen's work in non-shunga was principally bijinga and these are characterized by the inclusion of complex wordplays in the series and print titles. For whatever reason, Eisen and his publisher did not consider oban-size shunga prints the right medium for such wordplays. In this untitled shunga set the scenes are set against a pale yellow ground.

This whole series is included in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1812-14. 
Oban yoko-e size: 14 1/4" x 9 1/3" inches. Series: '(Ehon) tsui no hinagata (Models of Loving Couples)'. 
Very good impression, color and condition. Very slight centerfold, some trimming and very small repair but generally in a very good state. Wonderful printed details such as metallic pigments and embossing.

The lovers at this print look at the screen as if they've been caught by someone peering at them from behind it. 
A virtuoso technique can be noted in the design of the fabrics with the pattern of small squares and intersecting lines. The portrayal of the woman with her hair down is unusual in shunga. Another uncommon erotic signifier in this design is the man biting in the towel hanging over his head, expressing a suppressed emotion (normally in shunga this is a woman's gesture!), giving him a less dominant role.

On this plate:

"Pl.10: Here we come to another of the acknowledged masterpieces of the series. As we have already cited, the furtive rendezevous is a frequent theme in shunga, lending an element of suspense that serves to heighten the emotional impact of the situation. In this notable scene we glimpse a lover's secret, hurried visit to his paramour. 
He glances furtively to the left; she has just come from the bath, after washing her long hair.

The undulating waves of kimono-pattern, white flesh and raven hair echo the urgency of the occasion. And again, the larger format of the õban print permits more simplification of composition than is to be found in Hokusai's equally-famed shunga book-illustrations of the same period. (Netsuke aficionades will again be delighted at the sight of their favorite object, at the man's sash -- in this case, of the simple kagami-buta variety -- depicted in real life, so to speak..." (Richard Lane in Vol.13 of The Complete Ukiyo-e Shunga )

On this series:

"(Ehon) tsui no hinagata is one of Hokusai's first full-size õban print albums of erotica, and its title underscores the difficulties in the translation of many shunga book titles. The word tsui can be interpreted as 'couple' or 'male and female pairs'. It is also possible that Hokusai intended a wordplay as the word tsui (written here tsuhi) can also be pronounced tsubi, an archaic term for 'vulva'.

Richard Lane's translation Patterns of Loving Couples does not acknowledge this underlying sexual connotation, nor does Hayakawa Monta's less suggestive title Interlocking Patterns (Hayakawa and Arell 2002: 67). Hinagata can refer to kimono patterns, but it can also denote 'sample'. All these levels of semantic meaning should be reflected in the translation, taking into consideration the innocent images of loving couples and the cruder 'samples of vulvas'.

One of the plates in the work is signed 'Shishoku Gankõ'. This has been interpreted as a pseudonym for Hokusai, even though this theory cannot be substantiated". (Chris Uhlenbeck in 'Japanese Erotic Fantasies: Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period').

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1850. Size: 11" x 8 2/3" inches. Fine impression, color and condition. Very minor marks and flaws otherwise in a magnificent state.

An unusual shunga scene portraying a large orgy with numerous sexual activities on the quay.

A humourous and very detailed design !

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1830s. Size: 10 3/4" x 8 2/3" inches. Fine impression, color and very good condition. Very minor wear and soiling, marks and flaws.

From a book series by Kuniyoshi depicting an erotic parody on the Chushingura story.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1830s. Size: 10 3/4" x 8 2/3" inches. Fine impression, color and very good condition. Very minor wear and soiling, marks and flaws.

A very unusual abortion scene with a young pregnant woman at the point of giving birth (the tiny forehead already coming out) holding on tightly to an occasional table while being supported by an old woman. Erotic signifiers enhance the scene for example in the visibilty of the aged woman's genitalia adding a lesbian undertone and the stream depicted on the folding screen in the background which evokes woman's sexuality.

From a book series by Kuniyoshi depicting an erotic parody on the Chushingura story.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1830s. Size: 10 3/4" x 8 2/3" inches. Fine impression, color and very good condition. Very minor wear and soiling, marks and flaws.

From a book series by Kuniyoshi depicting an erotic parody on the Chushingura story.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1830s. Size: 10 3/4" x 8 2/3" inches. Fine impression, color and very good condition. Very minor wear and soiling, marks and flaws.

From a book series by Kuniyoshi depicting an erotic parody on the Chushingura story

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Shunga (Erotic print). Date: c.1820s. 
Size: 8 2/3" x 10 1/2" inches. Fine impression, color and very good condition. Fine impression, color and very good condition. Backing and very minor soiling

A strikingly beautiful shunga design depicting a lovely couple having intercourse behind a mosquito-net which covers the whole image.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1890s. Size: 10 1/10" x 7 3/4" inches. Excellent impression, color and very good condition. 
Thin backing. Very small thinning spot, minor marks and flaws but overall in a magnificent state.

A high-class courtesan (an oiran), which is indicated by her several hair-pins, making love to a young customer who's wearing a purple kimono. Finely detailed impression with wonderful use of metallic pigments, gauffrage and lively colors. Striking in this well-known series is the enormous reproduction of the male genitalia and the depiction of the post-coital moment.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1890s. Size: 10 1/10" x 7 3/4" inches. Excellent impression, color and very good condition. 
Thin backing. Very small thinning spot, minor soiling, marks and flaws but overall in a very good state.

An older aristocratic man is making love to his young lover. Finely detailed impression with wonderful use of metallic pigments, gauffrage and lively colors. Striking in this well-known series is the enormous reproduction of the male genitalia and the depiction of the post-coital moment.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1890s. Size: 10 1/10" x 7 3/4" inches. Excellent impression, color and very good condition. 
Thin backing. Very small thinning spot, minor marks and flaws but overall in a magnificent state.

A man is making love to his wife who's sitting on top of him. She wears a specific hat that indicates she;s a member of the elite. Finely detailed impression with wonderful use of metallic pigments, gauffrage and lively colors. Striking in this well-known series is the enormous reproduction of the male genitalia and the depiction of the post-coital moment.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1890s. Size: 10 1/10" x 7 3/4" inches. Excellent impression, color and very good condition. 
Thin backing. Very small thinning spot, minor marks and flaws but overall in a magnificent state.

A heavily scarred man is making love to his girl. Finely detailed impression with wonderful use of metallic pigments, gauffrage and lively colors. Striking in this well-known series is the enormous reproduction of the male genitalia and the depiction of the post-coital moment.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1890s. Size: 10 1/10" x 7 3/4" inches. Excellent impression, color and very good condition. 
Thin backing. Very small thinning spot, minor marks and flaws but overall in a magnificent state.

An unshaven bandit is raping a young woman who has been tied down while her mouth is covered with a cloth. Finely detailed impression with wonderful use of metallic pigments, gauffrage and lively colors. Striking in this well-known series is the enormous reproduction of the male genitalia and the depiction of the post-coital moment.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1890s. Size: 10 1/10" x 7 3/4" inches. Excellent impression, color and very good condition. 
Thin backing. Very small thinning spot, minor marks and flaws but overall in a magnificent state.

Very nice rendering of a secluded woman who had just experienced an orgasm while masturbating. The shunga book that served as inspiration still in her hand. Finely detailed impression with wonderful use of metallic pigments, gauffrage and lively colors. Striking in this well-known series is the enormous reproduction of the male genitalia and the depiction of the post-coital moment.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1890s. Size: 10 1/10" x 7 3/4" inches. Excellent impression, color and very good condition. 
Thin backing. Very small thinning spot, minor marks and flaws but overall in a magnificent state.

An aristocratic couple (as indicated by the shaved eyebrows of the woman and the specific hat of the man!) making love. Finely detailed impression with wonderful use of metallic pigments, gauffrage and lively colors. Striking in this well-known series is the enormous reproduction of the male genitalia and the depiction of the post-coital moment.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Shunga (Erotic print).
Date: c.1890s. Size: 10 1/10" x 7 3/4" inches. Excellent impression, color and very good condition.
Very small thinning spot, minor marks and flaws but overall in a magnificent state.

A monk is having intercourse with his secret lover. Finely detailed impression with wonderful use of metallic pigments, gauffrage and lively colors. Striking in this well-known series is the enormous reproduction of the male genitalia and the depiction of the post-coital moment.

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Description:

Antique Japanese color woodblock attrib. to Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Shunga (Erotic print). 
Date: c.1890s. Size: 10 1/10" x 7 3/4" inches. Excellent impression, color and very good condition.
Very small thinning spot, minor marks and flaws but overall in a magnificent state.

A young man is wetting his fingers before pleasing his lover. Finely detailed impression with wonderful use of metallic pigments, gauffrage and lively colors. Striking in this well-known series is the enormous reproduction of the male genitalia and the depiction of the post-coital moment.

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