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Princess Komatsu and the Green Grass of Love
Princess Komatsu and the Green Grass of Love
Princess Komatsu and the Green Grass of Love

Princess Komatsu and the Green Grass of Love

Titles
  • Shunga
  • Himekomatsu koi no wakakusa
  • 姫小松恋若草
Artist (Japanese, 1711 - 1785)
Datec. 1748
GeographyJapan
MediumWoodblock-printed book; ink on paper with hand-coloring
Dimensions5 11/16 x 7 11/16 in. (14.5 x 19.5 cm)
ClassificationsBooks & Manuscripts
Credit LinePurchase, Richard Lane Collection, 2003 (2016-56-059)
Object number2016-56-059
DescriptionPrincess Komatsu (1573-1620) was the adopted child of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), leader of the clans of Eastern Japan who eventually founded a feudal regime to control the entire country throughout the Edo period (1615-1868). Before this unification occurred, however, Ieyasu’s primary rival for political power was Lord Sanada Masayuki (1544-1611) of Shinano province (present-day Nagano Prefecture). In an attempt to ease this conflict, Ieyasu arranged from Komatsu to marry Lord Sanada’s son, but as tensions between Ieyasu and Lord Sanada inevitably reached a boiling point, Princess Komatsu found herself hopelessly trying to mollify both parties, her allegiance torn between her father and her father-in-law. As with many ribald satires, Princess Komatsu and the Green Grass of Love dispenses with the intricacies of this political history and re-imagines it as a variety of erotic encounters.
On View
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