Woodblock print Place of origin: Edo, Japan...

Woodblock print

• Place of origin:
  
  
  

  Edo, Japan (made)

  
  
  
  


• Date:
  
  
  

  1790-1800 (made)

  
  
  
  


• Artist/Maker:
  
  
  

  Eisho, Chokosai (artist)

  
  

  From 1639 to 1853 the Dutch were the only Europeans allowed to trade in Japan. They were confined to a small artificial island in Nagasaki Harbour and their activities were closely regulated by the Japanese. No European women were allowed in Japan, but the Dutch were permitted to enjoy the company of local courtesans.

  
  

  This erotic print shows a Dutchman with a Japanese woman. The man is speaking gibberish and the woman is complaining that she cannot understand what he is saying. Instead she urges him to ‘do it harder’. Incense is burning in the lower right-hand corner, perhaps to mask the smell of the western ‘barbarian’. The print reveals a humorous, rather libidinous dimension to the Japanese curiosity about the Dutch.

  
  

  The Victoria and Albert Museum