Utagawa Kunisada Kamigata Koi Shugyo 1827, Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Complete Three Volumes
Utagawa Kunisada Kamigata Koi Shugyo 1827, Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Complete Three Volumes
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A guide for this piece: about $972, 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
- QuietResplendent Resplendent 8.4 of 10 ·
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Condition report
Very Good8.0 / 10
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
Love, Ghosts and the Theatre Box
Kunisada fills this enpon with the whole floating world: lovers, a theatre audience, a ghost above a moonlit brawl and a giant toad under cherry blossom. The original covers and title slips make it a rare survival as well as a lively read.
Best for: Collectors of Edo enpon and the Utagawa school
Condition notes
Old repairs, somewhat more in the upper volume; light foxing and scattered staining; covers and edges worn with age. Original covers and title slips retained.
Assessed from photographs and descriptionReport dated 14 November 2026
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 three-volume enpon of 1827 with plates by Utagawa Kunisada, in which lovers, actors, ghosts and comedy share the same crowded pages.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
Kamigata Koi Shugyo, loosely an apprenticeship in love in the manner of Kyoto and Osaka, was published in Bunsei 10 (1827) as an enpon, the privately circulated erotic picture book. Its plates are given to Utagawa Kunisada (1786 to 1865), the most prolific designer of the Utagawa school.
Not every plate is amorous. A ghost drifts above a moonlit brawl, a giant toad rears beneath cherry blossom, spectators crowd a theatre box and two gentlemen confer on a cloud. That mixture of intimacy, parody and the supernatural is the spirit of warai-e, the laughing picture.
The set keeps its original green covers and original title slips. These are usually the first parts of a book to be lost, and collectors look for them first.
Details
- Title: Kamigata Koi Shugyo, complete in three volumes
- Artist: Utagawa Kunisada, as attributed
- Published: Bunsei 10 (1827), Edo period
- Genre: Enpon (shunga picture book) with warai-e humour
- Technique: Colour woodblock printing on Japanese paper
- Format: Hanshibon, stab-bound in the Japanese manner
- Cover size: About 22.8 x 15.5 cm (9.0 x 6.1 in)
- Covers: Original green paper covers with original title slips
- Made in: Japan
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 0.5 cm (0.2 in).
Condition
- Old repairs to the leaves, somewhat more in the upper volume.
- Light foxing and scattered staining, including a water stain to one endpaper.
- Covers and edges worn and toned, as expected after nearly two centuries.
- Coins seen on some plates were placed only for photography, and a clear stand holds the pages open; neither is part of the book.
- Every photograph is part of the description.
Condition grade B (very good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as the Edo-period edition of 1827 with plates by Utagawa Kunisada; date and attribution are given as recorded for the book and are not independently certified. Store flat, away from sun and damp.
Delivery from Japan
The three volumes are wrapped flat in acid-free tissue between rigid boards 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. Further pieces of the kind are kept in Shunga and Hidden Arts and in our archive of woodblock prints and classical texts.
Concierge
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Collectors also search: Kunisada enpon in three volumes · Edo period shunga book · Kamigata Koi Shugyo 1827
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