Kasado Chijū 笠戸蜘十 (act. c. 1648)
Shōnin Munakata 宗像ノ商民 (act. c. 1648)
The Book of Lewd Yin and Yang
(In’yō intō no maki 陰陽淫蕩之巻)
Japan, Edo period (1615-1868), 1648
Hand-drawn artist-proof of woodblock-printed book; ink on paper
Purchase, Richard Lane Collection, 2003
(2008.0501)
The dating of this rare work indicates that it was published a full two decades before the Kanbun Master, currently recognized as one of the founders of ukiyo-e, produced the hanging scroll displayed at the entrance of this exhibition. The text is a sex manual instructing readers in an extremely straightforward, earnest tone about autoeroticism, sexual foreplay, and a variety of positions for sexual intercourse. The illustration on the left page of a woman stimulating her clitoris indicates that the text was intended for a female readership as well as for men.