Courtesans of Shin Kanaya, from the book "Mirror of Beautiful Women of the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro bijin awase sugata kagami)," vol. 2
1776
Medium
Color woodblock print; double-page illustration cut from a book
Dimensions
22.6 × 30.2 cm (8 7/8 × 11 7/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
32222
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan *Courtesans of Shin Kan*, a captivating double-page color woodblock print by Kitao Shigemasa from 1776. Extracted from volume 2 of the illustrated *Mirror of Beautiful Women of the Pleasure Qu (Seiro bijin awase sugata kag)*, this artwork celebrates the glamorous courtesans of Yoshiwara, Tokyo's famed pleasure district. Shigemasa, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), captures the fleeting pleasures of urban life, where high-ranking *oiran* (courtesans) embodied idealized beauty, fashion, and sophistication amid the era's bo...
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...