| Method | Woodblock (nishiki-e) |
| Artist | Utagawa Toyokuni (1769 - 1825) [Toyokuni I] |
| Published | 1822 |
| Dimensions | Two Hanshibon sheets [each sheet ~222 x 155 mm] |
| Notes |
Series: Ōyogari no koe: Call of Geese Meeting at Night Writer: Piwihafu no Moemon pseudonym of Utei Enba II Two prints from Volume II and Volume III of from Toyokuni I's three volume Ōyogari no koe: Call of Geese Meeting at Night. This series contains 26 images with short erotic stories written by Utei Enba II. Here two separate single sheet prints have been joined and edged with decorative paper to create a new image. On the right is the last print from Volume III where a woman crouches down exposing herself while holding a bath ladle with water in in her right hand, her hair is down, a comb and a hair pin casually pushed into it, she holds towels in her mouth and a candle is li by her side. On the left is a print from Volume II depicting a, hairy, fire watchman, who uses his telescope for the purpose of looking into bed rooms, here he sits in a watch tower peering through his telescope. Some of the text around him reads: 'My, oh my, the days are long, so I've borrowed a telescope. And what an amazing sight I've discovered!'. Looking down it becomes apparent that the man has become aroused by what he is seeing. This print normally comes after [53177] and is meant to visually connect to that print as roof lines and landscapes in the background of both prints are a continuation of one another. In this instance, however, someone has joined these two prints to form a new image. An unusual find. The inclusion of a figure such as the fire watchman is meant to be a comic element, as the nature of the telescope is an easy domain for sexual jokes due to its phallic nature. Shunga is the term used for the body of erotic imagery produced in Japan from 1600 to 1900. The term shunga means spring pictures, a euphemism for sex, and is one of several names for erotic material produced in Japan. Shunga took different formats: painted hand scrolls, painted books, printed books and albums, and sets of prints which were sometimes sold in wrappers. As prints they are one of the genres of ukiyo-e, or Floating World prints, which also include fukeiga (landscape prints), and bijin-ga (prints of beautiful women). Most of the major ukiyo-e artists produced shunga material at some point during their careers, including Utamaro (who produced more erotic books than non-erotic books), Hokusai, and Hiroshige. Produced at the same time as the introduction of full colour woodblock printing, shunga prints and books were made using the most lavish and complicated printing techniques, including gauffrage, metallic inks, mica, complicated printed patterns, and multicolour printing using a high number of different colours. Although prolific in its number and variety, shunga should be seen as more representative of the ideals of the ukiyo, with its emphasis on mutual pleasure, rather than as an accurate representation of Japanese attitudes and practices of sexuality. Shunga present an invitation to pleasure through the bliss of lovemaking and though largely heteronormative, they portray the full gamut of couplings, married or otherwise, often surrounded by lavish settings and objects of pleasure. Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825) was one of the leading figures of Japanese woodblock printmaking. Born in Edo, he was the son of Kurahashi Gorobei an important carver of dolls and puppets specialising in kabuki figures. After showing talent at painting from a young age, Toyokuni was apprenticed to Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814) founder of the Utagawa School and a nearby neighbour. Toyokuni was a master of actor prints, but also specialised in bijin-ga. He trained Kunisada and Kuniyoshi and was a key figure the generating the prosperous early 19th century Edo ukiyo-e print market. Toyokuni produced a few shunga works in the 1790s but ceases to produce any more for a twenty year period until 1822 when he produced Oyogari no koe. It was after he produced this work that fellow Utagawa artists followed his lead and began to produce shunga. Utei Enba II (1792-1869) was an Edo author of popular fiction. He also wrote a number of successful erotic books which he produced in collaboration with members of the Utagawa School including Toyokuni I and Kunisada. The works he collaborated on contain numerous novel devices to entice and entertain readers such as the inclusions of ghost, scandals involving kabuki actors, and trick pictures. His pen name was Enkobo Tsukinari. Ex. Col.: Peter Darach Ref: International Research Centre for Japanese Studies, Ehon (Uliyo-e Shunga) Database, KC/172/Ut, 004508784 and 004508792. Yoshihiko, Shirakura in Shunga, Japanese Erotic Art, Pie Books, 2009, p.224 (Fig.119). Screech, Timon. Sex and the Floating World: Erotic Images in Japan 1700-1820, Reaktion Books, London, Second Edition, 2009, p. 228. Condition: Some light soiling lower left and right corners, slightly faded, laid to a paper backing and edged top and bottom with decorative paper part printed in gold. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £200.00 |
| Stock ID | 53179 |