Description
Refined woodblock printed double-page illustration taken from the three-volume erotic work “The Amorous Tale of a Budding Genji” (艶色二葉源氏), made in a period between 1857 and 1859 by the artist Koikawa Shozan (恋川笑山), and depicting the “Shining Prince” and, on the left, Lady Akashi (明石の御方).
For the realization of this print, the artist probably drew inspiration from a work made between 1847 and 1852 by the famous Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞), entitled “The Akashi Bathhouse” (あかし風呂) and in which the prince wears a dress decorated with the same motif of oshidori (鴛鴦) mandarin ducks.
The woodcut on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging, is in very good condition.
