Keisai Eisen Nise Murasaki Onna Genji, Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Three Volumes
Keisai Eisen Nise Murasaki Onna Genji, Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Three Volumes
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- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
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A guide for this piece: about $90, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
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- Character
- Ornate 7.8 of 10 ·
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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.
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Object, sculpture and ceramics
Condition report
Very Good
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
Genji, Retold for the Pillow
The most fashionable novel of its day is turned into a private comedy of desire, and the designer clearly enjoyed it: the robes, quilts and river boats are drawn with real relish. A complete set of three keeps the parody whole.
Best for: Collectors of Edo erotic books and Genji parodies
Condition notes
A stain to the lower part of the first half of the lower volume; very slight worm damage; age staining and rubbing. Paper slips in some photographs were laid over details for discretion.
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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A complete set of three volumes of Nise Murasaki Onna Genji, an Edo erotic parody of the Genji romance printed in full colour from woodblocks.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
In the 1840s all Edo was reading Ryutei Tanehiko's Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji, which moved The Tale of Genji into the shogun's palace. Erotic parodies followed at once, and this is one of them: courtly romance retold as enpon, with a frontispiece beauty framed in a roundel of cherry blossom and double-page plates of lovers on verandas, beneath paper lanterns and aboard roofed pleasure boats on the river.
The colour is bright and confident, the patterned robes and quilts drawn with real pleasure, and the red and yellow cartouches carry the witty dialogue that made these books as much comedy as erotica.
Art and Social History
Shunga, also called makura-e and warai-e, were issued quietly and almost always unsigned.
Details
- Title: Nise Murasaki Onna Genji
- Period: late Edo period
- Genre: shunga ehon (erotic picture book), Genji parody
- Technique: colour woodblock printing on Japanese paper
- Volumes: three, upper, middle and lower, about 35 pages
- Binding: stitched, with title slips
- Size: about 24.2 x 17 cm (9.5 x 6.7 in)
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 1 to 2 cm (0.5 in).
Condition
- A stain to the lower part of the first half of the lower volume.
- Very slight worm damage in places; age staining, soiling and rubbing.
- The small paper slips seen in some photographs were laid over details for discretion and are not part of the book.
Condition grade B (very good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
An original Edo woodblock-printed book. Store flat, away from light and damp.
Delivery from Japan
Packed flat by hand in Japan in discreet outer packaging and shipped 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, and each one is reviewed personally. Continue to Shunga and Hidden Arts or read our essay on shunga.
Concierge
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