Attributed to Utagawa Kuniyasu 歌川国安 (1794–1861)
The Harbor of Love: On the Island of Women (Koi no minato nyōgo no shimada)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868), 1830
Woodblock-printed book; ink and color on paper
Purchase, Richard Lane Collection, 2003
(2008.0496)

Two devotees prostrate themselves before a monstrously large phallus and vagina.

For a discussion on the thematic precedents for this imagery, please see “Shunga before the 19th Century: Parodies of Religion in Erotic Books,” posted elsewhere in this exhibition.

For a more thorough discussion of the legendry upon which this text is based, please also see A Treasure Ship Embarking at the Isle of Women (Nyōgo no shima takara no irifune, c. 1848–1854) by Insui Sōjin Nameyasu (active c. mid-19th century) and Utagawa Kunimaro (active c. 1830s–1860s), two volumes of which are on display in this exhibition.

View info on museum database (enabled through support by the Robert F. Lange Foundation)