Standing courtesan
Place of OriginJapan
Date1688-1704
PeriodEdo period (1615-1868)
MaterialsInk and colors on paper
DimensionsH. 23 3/4 in x W. 9 7/8 in, H. 60.3 cm x W. 25.1 cm
Credit LineThe Avery Brundage Collection
Object numberB62D2
DepartmentJapanese Art
ClassificationsPainting
On View
Not on view美人図
One arm drawn into her sleeve and the other lifting the front of her outer robe, this long-haired beauty gracefully turns to look behind her. Edo-period painters often used this pose to depict courtesans on parade in the pleasure quarter. Modestly avoiding the viewer’s gaze, she allows him to inspect her physical appearance—white skin, delicate features, long silky hair, and beautiful robes—all attributes of an ideal Edo beauty.
Written above the figure is a famous poem from the
Collection of Japanese Poems from Ancient and Modern Times (Kokin wakashu), compiled between 887 and 897. The poem is said to refer to the sadness of lovers who face a morning parting after spending the night together under a layer of robes. The romantic sentiment would have appealed to male connoisseurs of the pleasure quarter who liked to believe that courtesans yearned for them when they were gone.Shinonome no
hogara hogara
akeyukeba
onoga kinuginu
naruzo kanashiki
The early morning sky
grows bright
slowly.
Alone, I hear the sound
of my own garment.
approx. 1716-1736
Okumura Masanobu
approx. 1741-1744
Kaigetsudo Anchi
Nakamura Hōchū
