** This design is the series' rarest and best-known image. It merges the erotic subject with a Lake Biwa landscape that includes a temple, pine trees and a sailing boat. Shunga Gallery calls it Kuniyoshi's "erotic landscape." Its inclusion in the British Museum's landmark 2013 shunga exhibition shows the standing it has among specialists. ** Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1797–1861), unsigned, as is usual for shunga Series: Ōmi hakkei 遇見八景 ("Eight Views of Lovers' Meetings"), also written 逢見八景 Date: 1833 (Tenpō 4) Reference: Shirakura Yoshihiko, Japanese Shunga of Kuniyoshi (Heibonsha, 2012), p. 82 Technique: Woodblock print (mokuhanga), nishiki-e Format: Ōban yoko-e, approx. 25 × 36 cm, with central fold ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Paper & condition Fair colours and a good impression. There is soiling and scuffs towards the centre and along the margins. A professional cleaning can improve the composition. The sheet has a central fold, which is found on all known impressions of this series. The print carries an album backing. Fair condition overall! Please check the images carefully! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- About the Series The Eight Views of Ōmi (Ōmi hakkei) were a set of famous scenic spots around Lake Biwa, near Kyoto, established as a classic subject in Japanese painting and poetry by the early 17th century. Edo-period print artists liked to parody the theme by swapping the landscapes for other subjects, such as courtesans, actors, warriors and everyday life. Kuniyoshi's 1833 shunga series takes the parody furthest. The title cartouche replaces the usual characters for the province of Ōmi with characters meaning "meeting" and "seeing." The title still reads "Ōmi hakkei" aloud, but now means Eight Views of Lovers' Meetings. Shunga was officially prohibited for most of the Edo period, yet almost every major ukiyo-e artist produced it, usually unsigned or under a pseudonym. Kuniyoshi is best known for his warrior prints, and his shunga shows the same visual humour and inventiveness. Here the joke depends on the viewer knowing a classical landscape canon and seeing it turned on its head.