Ryusuitei Tanekiyo Koi no Kakehashi, Late Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Miniature, Complete Three Volumes
Ryusuitei Tanekiyo Koi no Kakehashi, Late Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Miniature, Complete Three Volumes
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- United States · 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 $180, 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
- Ornate 7.5 of 10 ·
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- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 7.4 cm | 2.9 in |
| Height | 10.9 cm | 4.3 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
Love Small Enough to Hide
Koi no Kakehashi, the Bridge of Love, was printed in the tiny kohon format, each volume barely the size of a playing card, so that it could slip into a sleeve. Within, a Bon dance, a cat in an empty room and a crane flying past a red sun share the pages with lovers in patterned robes.
Best for: Collectors of Edo enpon and miniature books
Condition notes
Some repair to the third volume; otherwise no conspicuous stains or damage. Covers with their title slips. Small coins appear on several plates in the photographs, placed for discretion; they are not part of the book.
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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Koi no Kakehashi, the Bridge of Love: a late Edo enpon in the rare miniature kohon format, complete in three volumes, with text by Ryusuitei Tanekiyo writing as Insuitei.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
Each volume measures barely eleven by seven centimetres, the size of a playing card. Books of this kohon format were made to be carried in a sleeve or a travelling case and read in private, and so few survive in complete sets. This one keeps all three volumes, marked heaven, earth and man in the classical manner, in speckled mustard covers with their title slips.
The text is by Ryusuitei Tanekiyo, the late Edo writer of popular fiction, here under one of the comic pen names that enpon authors liked to adopt. The pictures move with real charm between the everyday and the intimate: three women at the Bon dance, a courtesan with tortoiseshell hairpins, a crane flying past a red sun over breaking waves, a cat alone in a latticed room, and lovers beneath pine, wisteria and blossom, in rooms of yellow and vermilion. One plate shows a man peering through a lattice, the eavesdropper beloved of warai-e, the laughing picture.
The colour is bright and confident, and the small scale makes the patterned robes and interiors feel all the more intricate.
Details
- Title: Koi no Kakehashi (The Bridge of Love), complete in three volumes
- Author: Ryusuitei Tanekiyo, writing as Insuitei
- Published: Late Edo period
- Genre: Enpon (shunga picture book)
- Technique: Woodblock printing with colour on Japanese paper
- Format: Kohon (miniature format), stab-bound
- Cover size: About 10.9 x 7.4 cm (4.3 x 2.9 in)
- Covers: Speckled mustard paper covers with title slips
- Made in: Japan
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 0.5 cm (0.2 in).
Condition
- Some repair to the third volume.
- Otherwise no conspicuous stains or damage.
- Small coins were laid over details of several plates for discretion when the book was photographed; they are not part of the work.
Condition grade B (very good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as a late Edo edition with text by Ryusuitei Tanekiyo; 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: miniature Edo shunga book · Koi no Kakehashi enpon · kohon erotic picture book
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