The Courtesan Wakakusa of the Chojiya with Her Attendants Asano and Midori, from the series "Models for Fashion: New Designs as Fresh as Young Leaves (Hinagata wakana no hatsu moyo)"
1783/84
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
38.8 × 26.4 cm (15 5/16 × 10 7/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
10451
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan with Torii Kiyonaga's *The Courtesan Wakakusa of the Choji with Her Attendants Asano and Midori*1783/84), a stunning color woodblock print from the series *Models for Fashion: Designs as Fresh as Young Leaves (Hinagata wak no hatsu moyo)*. This oban-sized masterpiece (38.8 × 26.4 cm) captures the elegance of Yoshiwara's pleasure district, where the glamorous courtesan Wakakusa stands poised in luxurious kimono, flanked by her attendants. Kiyonaga, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition, excelled in bijin-ga—depiction...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonaga · 1752–1815
Torii Kiyonaga, born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752 in Uraga, Sagami Province, was the son of an Edo bookseller who owned tenements near a bustling fish market. At age 14 in 1765, he began his apprenticeship under Torii Kiyomitsu, the third-generation head of the prestigious Torii school of ukiyo-e, renowned for kabuki theater illustrations and signage. Adopted into the Torii family, Kiyonaga succeede...