Utagawa Kunisada Sue Shiraga Meoto Kusa 1835, Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Three Volumes
Utagawa Kunisada Sue Shiraga Meoto Kusa 1835, 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
- Arrival
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Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $498, 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 8.5 of 10 ·
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- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 15.7 cm | 6.2 in |
| Height | 22.2 cm | 8.7 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
Until Our Hair Turns White
A wedding wish turned into a private book by the busiest designer of the Tenpo years. The cut-away pleasure house alone is worth the study.
Best for: Collectors of Kunisada and Edo illustrated books
Condition notes
Later handwritten title slips and repairs along the lower edge of some text leaves; the picture leaves remain clean.
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 wedding blessing turned into a book of love: Kunisada's shunga ehon of 1835, rich in colour and comedy, complete in three volumes.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
The title, Sue Shiraga Meoto Kusa, wishes husband and wife a long and prosperous life together until their hair turns white, a traditional wedding blessing. Kunisada designed it as Fukiyo no Matahei, one of the playful names he kept for his private books.
The volumes open with an ambitious frontispiece, a whole pleasure house drawn in cut-away perspective, room after room of guests, kitchens and a bathhouse. A theatrical prologue follows, then intimate scenes in which textiles, screens and lacquer are rendered in remarkable detail.
The intimate plates move between tenderness and comedy, from lovers beneath a mosquito net to a household tumbling into a bath tub. Round discs in some photographs were placed for discretion and are not part of the book.
Details
- Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786 to 1865), as Fukiyo no Matahei
- Title: Sue Shiraga Meoto Kusa
- Published: 1835 (Tenpo 6)
- Genre: Shunga ehon (illustrated erotic book)
- Medium: Colour woodblock printing on washi paper
- Format: Hanshibon, three volumes, stitched binding
- Covers: Floral printed covers with later handwritten title slips
- Cover size: 22.2 x 15.7 cm (8.7 x 6.2 in)
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 1 to 2 mm.
Condition
- Title slips are later handwritten replacements.
- Repairs are visible along the lower edge of some text leaves; the picture leaves remain clean.
- Age toning and edge wear; 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 a period edition of 1835, examined and photographed in Japan. Keep the volumes flat, away from sun and damp, and turn pages with clean, dry hands.
Delivery from Japan
Wrapped in acid-free tissue, laid flat between 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. Further pieces are kept in Shunga and Hidden Arts and in our woodblock print and classical texts archive.
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Collectors also search: Kunisada Fukiyo no Matahei ehon · Tenpo era shunga book · antique Japanese erotic book in three volumes
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