ROULEAU DE MANCHE (SODE NO MAKI)

Handscroll for the Sleeve (Sode no maki) is an undisputed masterpiece within the shunga tradition. Eleven couples are depicted in various positions and stages of lovemaking, and on the twelfth sheet are three circular windows containing male and female genitalia. Extraordinary in the use of space allowed by the strikingly long and narrow sheets of paper - each pair of lovers is beautifully portrayed using rhythmic lines and ingenious cropping, imparting each scene with a story of its own. Scenes include an encounter between two lovers shown passionately kissing with their eyes closed, a young woman who is covering her mouth coyly, indicating possibly this being her first sexual encounter and a scene derived from history showing the one-night encounter between the famous young Ushiwaka-maru and Princess Joruri.

Literally meaning "Handscroll for the sleeve", the title Sode no maki suggests that it can be carried around slipped inside the sleeve of a kimono. This example is especially notable for the wonderful preservation of colours, which in many other examples are much less vibrant. To compare with examples in museum collections:

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, (accession number RES.09.319), go to:
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/scroll-for-the-sleeve-sode-no-maki-277959

The British Museum, (accession number OA+,0.135.1-13), go to:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx

For further reading see Tim Clark et. al., Shunga: Sex and Pleasure in Japanese Art, (British Museum, London, 2013), p. 182-189.