EHON YŪKUN KYŌ 絵本遊君競 from title-slip Picture Book of a Catalogue of High-Ranking Women of the Pleasure Quarter

by Ehon YŪKun KyŌ 絵本遊君競, from title-slip

$4,000 · Offered by Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller

First edition

Seven double-page woodcut illus. 7.5 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff wrappers, title-slip, new stitching. On border of final woodcut: Osaka: Itoya Ichibei 糸屋市兵衛, 1740s-60s . Apparently the first edition and very rare; not in NIJL or WorldCat. Yūkun were women working in the pleasure quarter who had achieved status as tastemakers, skilled in calligraphy, music, and poetry. Their outstanding qualities, beyond mere beauty, attracted

• Binding: Wrappers

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.