Utagawa Kunisada Shiki no Nagame, Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Spring and Summer Volumes, Fifteen Plates
Utagawa Kunisada Shiki no Nagame, Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Spring and Summer Volumes, Fifteen Plates
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
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- Import
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A guide for this piece: about $322, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
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- Character
- Ornate 8 of 10 ·
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- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 19.3 cm | 7.6 in |
| Height | 25.4 cm | 10.0 in |
Every piece is measured by hand, in centimetres as Japan measures. Please allow 1–2 cm (about ½ inch) for the give of the material and the hand that held the tape.
Where each figure is taken · View the plate
Object, sculpture and ceramics
Condition report
Good
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
Spring and Summer in Full Colour
Shiki no Nagame follows the year through its seasons, and these two volumes hold spring and summer: blossom, rain on a balcony, a roofed boat on blue water, a cat at a veranda rail. Kunisada builds each scene as a small theatre, with the furnishings and robes drawn as carefully as the lovers.
Best for: Collectors of large-format Kunisada enpon and seasonal shunga
Condition notes
Worm tracks through the text leaves and some wear to the covers. The plates of both volumes are present, bound slightly out of their original sequence.
Grades, ratings and commentary are given to the best of our ability, knowledge and experience, and condition remains partly a matter of personal perception. What we stand behind without qualification is authenticity, truthful description and provenance, to the best of our knowledge. How we grade
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Two large-format volumes from Utagawa Kunisada's Shiki no Nagame, the spring and summer books of a four-season enpon, with fifteen double-page colour plates.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
Shiki no Nagame, read also as Iro no Nagame, is one of the celebrated erotic books of Utagawa Kunisada (1786 to 1865), the most prolific designer of the late Edo period. The full work runs to four volumes, one per season; the British Museum is recorded as holding all four. Here are spring and summer, with eight plates in one volume and seven in the other.
Kunisada treats each opening as a stage set. Blossom drifts over a garden, a cat pauses at a veranda rail, rain slants across a balcony, a roofed boat rocks on patterned waves. Robes and screens are cut with the same care as the figures, and the colour remains strong; generous text sections carry the narrative.
Details
- Title: Shiki no Nagame (also Iro no Nagame)
- Artist: Utagawa Kunisada, as attributed
- Period: Edo period
- Genre: Enpon (shunga picture book)
- Volumes: Two, spring and summer, of a set of four
- Plates: 15 double-page colour plates (8 and 7)
- Technique: Colour woodblock printing on Japanese paper
- Format: Ohon, stab-bound
- Cover size: About 25.4 x 19.3 cm (10.0 x 7.6 in)
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 0.5 cm (0.2 in).
Condition
- Worm tracks, mainly through the text leaves.
- Plates of both seasons present, bound slightly out of their original order.
- Wear to the plain paper covers, which carry no title slips.
- Small coins seen on some plates were placed for discretion during photography and are not part of the book.
Condition grade C (good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as volumes of Kunisada's Shiki no Nagame; the attribution is given as recorded for the books and is not independently certified. Store flat, away from sun and damp.
Delivery from Japan
Both volumes travel flat in acid-free tissue between rigid boards, insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer. Kindred volumes wait in Shunga and Hidden Arts and in our archive of woodblock prints and classical texts.
Concierge
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Collectors also search: Kunisada Shiki no Nagame · four seasons shunga book · large-format Edo enpon
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