🦊 Kaidan Yoru no Tono (Tales of Pussy in the Palace at Night)
 
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1865)
Date: Bunsei 9 (1826)
Medium:  Original Edo-period color woodblock print picture, shunga toy print with fold-out composition
Series: Kaidan yoru no tono (怪談夜の殿) — “Vaginal Tales of the Nocturnal Palace”
Author: Utei Enba II (1792–1862)
 
Description:
An exceptionally rare trick-print (仕掛絵 shikake-e) from Kunisada’s infamous erotic ghost-story series.  When closed, the scene depicts an intimate human encounter; when unfolded, the viewer is confronted with a supernatural transformation — a fox-spirit (kitsune) orgy illuminated by eerie ghost-fires (hitodama).  It also happens to be an anal scene with the fox ghost spirit as it casually dines on some fish while being penetrated by the unsuspecting male.  The metamorphosis from courtesan to fox spirit exemplifies the Edo fascination with yōkai and illusion, blending eroticism, humor, and horror in a single ingenious design.
 
Fox spirits in Edo mythology were believed to shapeshift into beautiful humans to seduce or deceive them, and this print captures that belief in an imaginative, almost theatrical reveal.  The details — glowing flames, straw mat, lacquer vessels, and metallic pigments — mark it as a first-class Bunsei-era impression.
 
References:
Ofer Shagan, Japanese Erotic Art: The Hidden World of Shunga, p.280, fig.38a–b
Yoshikazu Hayashi, Teihon Ukiyo-e Shunga Meihin Shusei, Vol.10
D.M. Richardson, A Harlot’s Account of Vernal Love (Shunjo Gidan Mizuagechō), 1994
Another impression: Honolulu Museum of Art
 
Condition:
Decent for its age with period wear, toning, and some paper losses consistent with Edo-era toy-print handling.  Excellent color retention with visible karazuri embossing and metallic pigment traces.  A complete and functional transformation composition.
 
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