Two Oiran with Two Female Attendants in the Yoshiwara
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
14 13/16 x 9 5/8 in. (37.6 x 24.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Mrs. J. Watson Webb, 1930
Accession Number
JP2398
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Chōbunsai Eishi's *Two Oiran with Two Femaleendants in the Yoshiwara captures the elegance of the pleasure district. This woodblock print, rendered in ink and color on paper, depicts two high-ranking courtesans, or *oiran*, accompanied by their young attendants, known as *kamuro Yoshiwara, Edo's (modern Tokyo) famed licensed quarter, was a hub of entertainment where such figures embodied beauty, grace, and the transient pleasures of the "floating world" (*ukiyo*). Eishi, a master of *ukiyo-e*—the popular art of depicting everyday life, the...
About the Artist
Chōbunsai Eishi · 1756–1829
Japanese, 1756–1829