The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

The Courtesans Kasugano and Utahama of Tamaya, from Courtesans of the Pleasure Quarters in Double Mirrors

c. 1800

Kitagawa Utamaro

(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
color woodblock print
39.1 x 26.1 cm (15 3/8 x 10 1/4 in.)
Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore 1930.217
Location: Not on view

Description

Kitagawa Utamaro was well known for his close-up portraits that belonged to a genre, or category, of images called bijinga (pictures of beautiful people). This print is from a series that invites comparisons of the attractiveness of different figures. It features two sex workers from an establishment in the Yoshiwara district of Edo (now Tokyo).
  • (Yamanaka & Co.)
    ?–1930
    Edward L. Whittemore, [1862–1930], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1930–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Highlights of Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 7, 2025-June 14, 2026).
    Transformations in Japanese Printmaking. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 30, 1984).
    Japanese Woodblock Prints: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 3-October 19, 1980).
    Japanese Hair Ornaments, Pouches and Toilet Articles. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 16-November 1, 1936).
  • {{cite web|title=The Courtesans Kasugano and Utahama of Tamaya, from Courtesans of the Pleasure Quarters in Double Mirrors|url=false|author=Kitagawa Utamaro|year=c. 1800|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1930.217