![Violent Dream Fantasy of an Abalone Diver](https://media-01.imu.nl/storage/shungagallery.com/2236/wp/0000000000000000000-1.jpg)
In the dunes near the sea we see a male awabi (abalone) diver making love to a tied-down female colleague. The woman is attached with ropes to an anchor. The waves in the background emphasize the direction of the movement in the design.
![awabi diver - bondage - shunga awabi diver - bondage - shunga](https://shungagallery.com/wp/../wp-content/upload_folders/shungagallery.com/0000000000000000000-1.jpg)
‘A male awabi (abalone) diver making love to tied-down female colleague‘ (c.1810s). Designed by Utagawa Kunimaru (1794-1829)
Awabi (Abalone) Diver
Initially I thought this was a rape scene but after closer study I am pretty certain that it is a female fantasy scene like Hokusai‘s The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife.
Haikai
The artist Utagawa Kunimaru was a pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825) and therefore entitled to carry the name Utagawa. Besides that he wrote Haikai * poems and that he mainly designed kabuki actors, courtesans and books little is known about him.
*Haikai is a short comical verse with a specific rhytm. They were looser in convention than Renga poems, and were often funny and vulgar.