A very rare authentic original Edo Period shunga gem!   It's an antique 1802, Japanese shunga erotic art woodblock print picture by Kitagawa UTAMARO (1753-1806).  From his famous shunga series, Michiyuki koi no futozao (On the Road: Love Songs for the Thick-necked Shamisen). 
 
The shunga picture measures approximately 26.2 cm x 21.3 cm.  Very good colors and impressions.  Good/very good condition for its age with some wear and soiling, couple tiny stain marks.  No backing.  Please refer to photos.   
 
This a rare oppotunity to purchase one of Utamaro's better and more elusive shunga series!  The artwork is fabulous, classic Utamaro, and the various themes indulged upon cover a vast array of historical figures and their supposed dramas.  Don't miss out on your chance to own a shunga artwork from this highly-treasured series!
 
More about this shunga series:  "The work from this series is stylistically similar to Utamaro's earlier oban-sized series of the same subject, Manipulations of Love with Musical Accompaniment (Ongyoku koi no ayatsuri, 1801).  The subject of both works is based on dramatized tales (yet based on true stories) of 'fated lovers' who commit double 'love' suicide.  The stories evolved into a line of dramas for Bunraku and Kabuki theatre called shinju mono (double-suicide plays)."  excerpt from P.138 of Japanese Erotic Fantasies by Chris Uhlenbeck and Margarita Winkel.  
 
The series we are offering is the final color version produced, as there were three total versions produced at that time due to its immense popularity.  As with most Utamaro works, there was the black & white version which was first to grace the public.  However, it seems even back in the early 1800s the masses weren't entirely satisfied with just black & white artwork, hence came the first colored version, which we also have in store.  Finally, he did make a third and final version, which is this one here, it being the most colorful of all three versions.  The same woodblocks were used for all three versions.  It's up to debate as to which colored version is most popular amongst collectors, as the second version does have sharper impressions than the final version, yet the colors are far simpler than they are here.  In short, to each his own.
 
A great-looking original shunga woodblock print picture of a male holding up the bottom of his female lover as she clings tightly while perched on top of him.  A shamisen lies in the background.