Courtesan Konosumi
Kitagawa Utamaro
1793
- Medium
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
- Dimensions
- 14 11/16 × 9 3/4 in. (37.3 × 24.7 cm) (image, sheet, ōban) 23 × 19 × 1 1/2 in. (58.42 × 48.26 × 3.81 cm) (outer frame)
- Genre
Tags
Japan
About
Wearing luxurious tortoiseshell hairpins and a fancy comb, the woman depicted here is a prostitute. The fan held in front of her chest is embellished with a view of Shinagawa bay, where the pleasure quarter at which she works is located. The poem inscribed on the fan describes her reputation as a beauty of the bay area, which was nicknamed the southern quarter because it was located south of Edo castle. Beach landscapes, in general, were a popular subject for fan prints.
