Tsuki Naniwa no Tsuya, Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Twelve Plates in Folding Orihon Binding
Tsuki Naniwa no Tsuya, Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Twelve Plates in Folding Orihon Binding
- 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 $269, 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.
With EMS, any charge is collected by your postal service on delivery. For pieces of significant value we can often arrange duties prepaid before dispatch.
How the estimate is reached · Ask for a figure on this piece
- Character
- Resplendent 8.2 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 10.8 cm | 4.3 in |
| Height | 18.0 cm | 7.1 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
Moonlight over Naniwa
Twelve lovers' scenes unfold panel by panel, each set in a richly patterned interior with poems running round the figures. The bright blues and reds, the plum blossom, moon-viewing dumplings and harbour views give the album the feel of a year of evenings in Osaka.
Best for: Collectors of shunga albums and Utagawa school colour printing
Condition notes
Twelve plates in a folding album with its cover and title slip retained. Slight old repairs to worm damage; otherwise a clean, bright example.
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 folding shunga album of twelve colour woodblock plates, kept in its patterned green cover with the title slip still in place.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
The album is recorded as Tsuki Naniwa no Tsuya, an allusion to the moon over Naniwa, the old poetic name for Osaka. It is not entered in the standard reference catalogues of enpon, so neither the designer nor the publisher is named; the drawing and the bright, dense colour point to the manner of the Utagawa school.
It is bound as an orihon, a single long strip of paper folded concertina fashion, so that each scene opens across two panels. Twelve plates are interleaved with pages of flowing verse, two of them lightly decorated with potted flowers and irises.
Each plate is a small world: a kettle steaming on a kotatsu, plum blossom beyond the shoji, an offering of dumplings for moon viewing, ships in the harbour beyond a terrace rail. The lovers are framed by patterned robes and written dialogue, the humour and tenderness that set shunga apart.
Details
- Title: Tsuki Naniwa no Tsuya, as recorded
- Artist: Unrecorded; in the manner of the Utagawa school
- Genre: Shunga album (enpon)
- Technique: Colour woodblock printing on Japanese paper
- Plates: Twelve, with pages of text
- Format: Orihon, accordion-folded album
- Cover size: About 18 x 10.8 cm (7.1 x 4.3 in)
- Cover: Patterned green paper with title slip retained
- Made in: Japan
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 0.5 cm (0.2 in).
Condition
- Slight old repairs to worm damage.
- Cover and title slip retained; colours bright.
- Small coins seen on three plates were placed only for photography and are not part of the album.
Condition grade B (very good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as a woodblock-printed shunga album; title and description are given as recorded for the album, which is not entered in the standard catalogues, and are not independently certified. Store flat, away from sun and damp.
Delivery from Japan
The album is 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.
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Collectors also search: shunga orihon album · Utagawa school erotic woodblock plates · Naniwa enpon in colour
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