Ensei

The poetry circle Hisakataya and Kuniyoshi together created two different series picturing the heroes of the Chinese epic Water margin as beautiful women. This print belongs to the later of the two series, published around 1829. The woman depicted here represents Ensei (Yan Qing, in Chinese), one of the youngest among the 108 heroes-a good-looking, fair-skinned man who excelled in music and dance. Her white wide-sleeved robe and lacquered hat are typical attire of shirabyøshi, female song-and-dance entertainers at temple and court festivals during the 12th and the 13th centuries.