Courtesan Hitomoto of the Daimonjiya

From 1775 up until the early 1800s, Utamaro designed more than 1, 800 prints: the vast majority portrayed beautiful women, the market for which he dominated in the early 1790s. This print belongs to one of his later series that portrays six famous courtesans from six different brothels. Given that they are all depicted in a relatively relaxed manner, we are probably meant to see them in terms of how they behave behind the scenes, in private. Hitomoto, who is seen here coquettishly holding a long pipe, was the highest ranking courtesan at the Daimonjiya.