Exhausted Lovers by Katsushika Hokusai

Exhausted Lovers by Katsushika Hokusai ca. 1810

Exhausted Lovers by Katsushika Hokusai ca. 1810
Two lovers sleeping after their exertions. Note the cat and mice, whimsical visual comments by the artist. A shunga print; shunga means "spring picture," spring being a euphemism for sex. These explicit pictures were issued in great numbers and form an important genre in ukiyo-e. They were technically prohibited, and though the authorities did not normally enforce the ban seriously, artists rarely signed their erotic prints; such prints are normally attributed on stylistic grounds.