Kuruwa no Homare, Meiji Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Twelve Months with Silvered Highlights
Kuruwa no Homare, Meiji Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Twelve Months with Silvered Highlights
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- États-Unis · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked Check the Shipping Flowchart here
- Import
Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $73, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
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- Character
- Resplendent 8.3 of 10 ·
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- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 19.0 cm | 7.5 in |
| Height | 12.2 cm | 4.8 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
Very Good
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
A Year in the Pleasure Quarter
Kuruwa no Homare walks through the calendar one month at a time, from a New Year pine behind a silvered screen to a rain-swept umbrella in winter, each plate facing a page of story. Its opening scene, a pair of lovers sailing through a starry sky, shows the playful humour the Meiji printers never lost.
Best for: Collectors of Meiji enpon and calendar-themed shunga books
Condition notes
A complete set of twelve monthly plates with the opening and closing double-page scenes. A few small holes in the closing double page and a light stain on the December leaf; otherwise no notable soiling or damage.
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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Considered offers only. The Desk replies personally to figures made in good faith; those set far below the asking price receive no reply.
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Kuruwa no Homare, a small oblong Meiji enpon, follows the pleasure quarter through the twelve months in colour woodblock touched with silver.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
The juni-kagetsu, twelve scenes for the months of the year, was one of the oldest frames for shunga, and Meiji publishers kept it alive in compact books such as this. The title, Pride of the Quarter, sits in a dark cartouche beside a courtesan beneath a black umbrella; on the back, a palanquin passes in silhouette below lantern-lit houses.
Each month has one plate facing a page of story: a New Year pine behind a silvered screen, plum blossom with a sleeping cat, a summer mosquito net, a full moon on a veranda and an umbrella in winter rain, all in red ruled borders. The book opens with two lovers flying through a starry sky, the absurd humour collectors call warai-e, laughing pictures, and closes with an intimate close-up on a grand scale.
Details
- Title: Kuruwa no Homare
- Artist: Unsigned
- Genre: Enpon (shunga picture book), twelve months
- Period: Meiji (1868 to 1912), undated
- Technique: Colour woodblock printing with silvered highlights on Japanese paper
- Contents: Twelve monthly plates with facing text, plus opening and closing double pages
- Format: One oblong volume, stab-bound with red thread
- Cover size: About 19 x 12.2 cm (7.5 x 4.8 in)
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 0.5 cm (0.2 in).
Condition
- All twelve monthly plates are present, with both double pages.
- A few small holes in the closing double page and a light stain on the December leaf.
- The small coins seen on some plates were placed only for discretion in photography and are not part of the book.
Condition grade B (very good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as a Meiji period woodblock enpon, unsigned and undated. Store flat, away from sun and damp.
Delivery from Japan
The volume is wrapped flat between rigid boards and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent service. Any import duties 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. Further pieces of the kind are kept in Shunga and Hidden Arts and in our archive of woodblock prints and classical texts.
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Collectors also search: Meiji shunga enpon · twelve months shunga book · warai-e woodblock book
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