Yanagawa Shigenobu II Shamisen Juni Choshi, Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Two Volumes, Twelve Plates
Yanagawa Shigenobu II Shamisen Juni Choshi, Edo Period Japanese Shunga Harubon, Erotic Art Colour Woodblock Ukiyoe Book, Two Volumes, Twelve Plates
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- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
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A guide for this piece: about $199, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
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- Ornate 8 of 10 ·
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| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 18.0 cm | 7.1 in |
| Height | 25.0 cm | 9.8 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
Twelve Tunings for the Night
The shamisen has three strings and many tunings, and this book borrows that musical idea for twelve amorous scenes, each named in a red cartouche like a song. Yanagawa Shigenobu II sets them in rooms of lattice, cherry blossom and rain.
Best for: Collectors of late Edo enpon and the Yanagawa school
Condition notes
Some wear to the covers. Light stains in the first volume and handling marks at the lower edge of the second, without much effect on the plates. Original title slips on both volumes.
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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Shamisen Juni Choshi, the Twelve Tunings of the Shamisen: a late Edo enpon in two large volumes by Yanagawa Shigenobu II, with twelve double-page colour plates.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
The shamisen, the three-stringed voice of the Edo pleasure quarters, is played in many tunings, and this book turns that musical vocabulary into a sequence of twelve amorous scenes. Each plate carries a red cartouche naming its tuning, so the reader moves through the book as through a recital, from a courtesan reclining beside a shamisen player to lovers on a balcony above a lotus pond, a couple caught in driving rain, and a terrace by the sea in cherry-blossom season.
The plates are by Yanagawa Shigenobu II, heir to the Yanagawa name founded by Hokusai's pupil and son-in-law. The colour is rich and confident, the patterned robes and lattice interiors printed with real finesse, and a final quiet page shows a single stag among falling leaves, the classical image of autumn longing.
Both volumes keep their original red title slips, and the set is shown with a navy cloth case.
Details
- Title: Shamisen Juni Choshi (Twelve Tunings of the Shamisen), complete in two volumes
- Artist: Yanagawa Shigenobu II, as attributed
- Published: Late Edo period
- Genre: Enpon (shunga picture book)
- Plates: 12 double-page colour plates
- Technique: Colour woodblock printing on Japanese paper
- Format: Obon (large format), stab-bound
- Cover size: About 25 x 18 cm (9.8 x 7.1 in)
- Covers: Mottled 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
- Some wear to the covers.
- Light stains in the first volume and handling marks at the lower edge of the second, without much effect on the plates.
- Original title slips retained on both volumes.
- 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 late Edo edition with plates by Yanagawa Shigenobu II; 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 two 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.
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Collectors also search: Yanagawa Shigenobu shunga book · Shamisen Juni Choshi enpon · late Edo erotic picture book
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