The Courtesan Shizuka of the Shizutamaya
1790s
Medium
Color woodblock print; hashira-e
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
88872
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1603–1868), Chôbunsai Eishi captured the allure of urban life through his exquisite ukiyo-e woodblock prints. *The Courtesan Shuka of the Shizamaya*, created in the 1790s, exemplifies his mastery of bijin-ga, or "pictures of beautiful women." This hashira-e—a tall, narrow pillar print designed to hang on architectural pillars—features the elegant courtesan Shizuka, likely from the famed Yoshiwara pleasure district in Edo (modern Tokyo). Eishi's refined style, with its soft lines and subtle gradations, set him apart from contemporaries like Utamaro, emp...
About the Artist
Chôbunsai Eishi · 1756–1829
Chôbunsai Eishi, born Hosoda Tokitomi in 1756 to a prosperous samurai family of the Fujiwara clan in Edo, inherited a substantial stipend of 500 koku of rice annually. His grandfather had served as the shogunate's Treasury Minister, and upon his father Hosoda Tokiyuki's death in 1772, Eishi became family head while holding a position in Shogun Tokugawa Ieharu's palace from 1781. Unusually for a uk...