Japanese Shunga Woodblock Print Diptych

A scroll unrolled, a man clutching his head and a woman who has clearly heard enough.

This shunga woodblock print diptych, Three Figures, is from Japan, Meiji Period (1868 – 1912 CE), in ink on paper. Shunga, or erotic prints, were a widely produced genre in Japan, and many sets open with domestic scenes before turning frank. On the left, a standing woman in a blue kimono reads from a long scroll while a man kneels with a hand to his brow. On the right, a woman in a red robe patterned with blue flowers kneels beside a pair of swords and a standing lantern. It is 12.5 inches wide and 9 high.

The plot thickens, as plots in this genre tend to.