🔥 Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) – Close-Up of the Female Form II – c.1826
 
Series: Kaidan Yoru no Tono (怪談夜の殿) — Tales of Pussy in the Palace at Night
Date: Bunsei 9 (1826)
Author: Utei Enba II (1792–1862)
Medium: Original Edo-period color woodblock print picture, shunga (Spring Picture)
 
Description:
A rare and intimate anatomical close-up from Kunisada’s notorious Bunsei-era erotic series Kaidan Yoru no Tono (“Tales of the Nocturnal Palace”).
Executed with superb technical refinement, the image showcases the artist’s mastery of fine hairline carving and delicate bokashi shading — blending sensual realism with aesthetic restraint typical of Kunisada’s early shunga period.
 
Unlike the overtly narrative scenes in the same series, this design isolates the female form with near-clinical focus, a visual study of beauty and desire that borders on abstraction.  The minimal setting and naturalistic rendering emphasize texture and light, revealing the subtle sophistication behind Edo erotic printmaking.
 
Condition:
Fine impression with rich color retention and well-preserved bokashi gradation.  Minor handling wear and small wormage spots consistent with age.  No backing.
 
Size:
Approx. 15.4 × 22 cm 
 
References:
Teihon Ukiyo-e Shunga Meihin Shusei, Vol.10, Yoshikazu Hayashi
Japanese Erotic Art: The Hidden World of Shunga, Ofer Shagan, 2013
A Harlot’s Account of Vernal Love (Shunjo Gidan Mizuagechō), D.M. Richardson, 1994