Courtesans of Ogiya, from the book "Mirror of Beautiful Women of the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro bijin awase sugata kagami)," vol. 1
Kitao Shigemasa
1776
Medium
Color woodblock print; double-page illustration cut from a book
Dimensions
21.4 × 29.7 cm (8 7/16 × 11 11/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13334
About the Artist
Kitao Shigemasa · 1739–1820
Kitao Shigemasa (1739–1820), born in the bustling Nihonbashi district of Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as a pivotal figure in ukiyo-e woodblock printing during Japan's Edo period. The eldest son of the bookseller Suharaya Mohei—from a lineage of publishers—Shigemasa, originally named Kitabatake Tarōkichi, was immersed in the world of printing from youth. Largely self-taught, he later studied under t...