UTAMAKURA (POEM OF THE PILLOW)

Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806) Utamakura (Poem of the Pillow) THE COMPLETE SET WITH TEXT AND ORIGINAL COVERS, first edition, twelve erotic prints in one volume, with preface and 2 double-pages of end text, preface dated yatsu no hatsuharu (first month, 1788), published by Tsutaya Juzaburo, in original paper covers with title slip inscribed in ink--good impressions, generally good color though some pigments faded, embellishments of gauffrage and mica, some margins slightly soiled and stained Illustrations: 1. Abalone diver raped by scaly river monster (kappa) as her companion looks on in horror and fascination 2. Woman discovering another woman's love letter hidden in the robe of her young lover 3. Lovers beside a standing lantern 4. Lovers in front of plum blossom and bamboo-decorated screen 5. Maid from a samurai mansion with her lover 6. Kept mistress with a young lover beside a chrysanthemum-decorated screen 7. Widow and her lover beside an open veranda 8. Lovers beneath a blossoming cherry tree 9. Young woman fighting off rape by a hairy older man 10. Lovers in the private second-floor room of a teahouse 11. Portly married couple 12. Dutch couple oban yoko-e: 10½ x 15¼in. (27 x 38.8cm) each approx.