Domestic Encounter by Katsukawa Shuncho

A shunga print by Katsukawa Shuncho ca. 1785

Domestic Encounter by Katsukawa Shuncho ca. 1785
A houshold encounter rather than a scene in a brothel; the girl is probably a maid. 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. While most artists produced several kinds of prints, Shuncho is known almost exlusively for his shunga.