couple engaged in intercourse, enveloped in brightly-patterned fabrics; man's kimono is blue with grey checked pattern with stylized leaves; woman's outer kimono is purple with white flowers; two plants at left--one with pink blossoms, the other similar to a small pine; text in LLC and at right edge, URC

Young Lovers at the New Year, from Selections from the Brocade Quarter (E-awase kingaishō), c. 1815

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A young couple are in the back room of a middle-class house, with pine and blossoming plum bonsai trees on a verandah at upper left. They are overwhelmed with sentiment about being together at the turning of the New Year. The man comments: "There's no day when all the creatures under the sun -- from the bush warbler that calls from the flowers to the frog living in the pond-- are prohibited from having sex. The first exchange of the new year is important." She replies: "Even the crows and the white egrets in the mountains have someone they love. The clumsy-footed mandarin duck s are also very affectionate. Please don't ever abandon me."

Details
Title
Young Lovers at the New Year, from Selections from the Brocade Quarter (E-awase kingaishō)
Artist Life
1787 - 1867
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2014.65.2.5
Curator Approved

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couple engaged in intercourse, enveloped in brightly-patterned fabrics; man's kimono is blue with grey checked pattern with stylized leaves; woman's outer kimono is purple with white flowers; two plants at left--one with pink blossoms, the other similar to a small pine; text in LLC and at right edge, URC