The world of Japanese geisha culture has long commanded worldwide interest and fascination. A document of this culture, as well as an exercise in erotic tradition, the "pillow book," was first used during Japan's Kamakura period (1192-1333). It then developed into a wider range of boudoir literature. Others became illustrated portfolios, or shunga, traditional Japanese erotic art that recalls great eighteenth-century masters such as Hokusai and Utamaro,...