Artwork Page for Tsukasa and Other Courtesans of the Ogiya Watching the Autumn Moon Rise Over Rice Fields from a Balcony in the Yoshiwara

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Tsukasa and Other Courtesans of the Ogiya Watching the Autumn Moon Rise Over Rice Fields from a Balcony in the Yoshiwara

1799

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾 北斎

(Japanese, 1760–1849)
Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
Surimono; color woodblock print
Measurements
Sheet: 56.6 x 21 cm (22 5/16 x 8 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Ralph King 1943.4
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Gomeirō is another name for the fashionable teahouse Ōgi-ya (House of Fans) in the Yoshiwara district of Edo (present-day Tokyo). Two courtesans, each attended by a geisha and a shinzō (apprentice to a courtesan) view a full autumn moon as it rises over the surrounding paddy fields. The elegance of the women's flowing robes and the serenity of the evening with a full silver moon contribute to the poetic atmosphere of this surimono, a privately commissioned print usually accompanied by text—here, a poem, which reads:

What liveliness! Geisha, shinzō, and jesters
fill the room, all guests of the moon.
A horizontally oriented color woodblock print depicts seven women with light skin tones in patterned robes within an interior. On the left, a folding screen with vertical text stands behind a black box. Centrally, four women kneel toward an open veranda overlooking a landscape with a dark circular moon. On the right, a standing woman and two kneeling attendants face left. Their garments feature muted tones of tan, green, and red.

Tsukasa and Other Courtesans of the Ogiya Watching the Autumn Moon Rise Over Rice Fields from a Balcony in the Yoshiwara

1799

Katsushika Hokusai

(Japanese, 1760–1849)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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