Yoshiwara, by Katsukawa Shuncho

An image of Yoshiwara. Shunchô, Katsukawa (Japanese, active c.1781-1801). Colour print from woodblocks (benigirai-e) with blind embossing (karazuri). Aiban format. 1780s. From the series 'Eight Views of Edo' (Edo hakkei). The idea of sets of eight views (hakkei) derived from a traditional set of eight views of Ômi Province, north-east of Kyoto', itself derived from the Chinese series, 'Eight views on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers'. Each view originally had an associated poem, with a mood or time of day. Print designers usually substituted other Japanese settings for the Ômi locations, but always with associated moods (or times of day) carried over from the original set. Sets of eight always included a scene of 'night rain', and in sets of Edo views, the 'night rain' usually featured the Yoshiwara. Two courtesans gaze out at rain through the upstairs window of a Yoshiwara brothel. Distant figures make their way along the Nihon embankment linking the Yoshiwara to Edo, carried in covered palanquins or sheltered by umbrellas.

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Yoshiwara. Shunchô, Katsukawa (Japanese, active c.1781-1801). Colour print from woodblocks (benigirai-e) with blind embossing (karazuri). Aiban format. 1780s. From the series 'Eight Views of Edo' (Edo hakkei). The idea of sets of eight views (hakkei) derived from a traditional set of eight views of Ômi Province, north-east of Kyoto', itself derived from the Chinese series, 'Eight views on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers'. Each view originally had an associated poem, with a mood or time of day. Print designers usually substituted other Japanese settings for the Ômi locations, but always with associated moods (or times of day) carried over from the original set. Sets of eight always included a scene of 'night rain', and in sets of Edo views, the 'night rain' usually featured the Yoshiwara. Two courtesans gaze out at rain through the upstairs window of a Yoshiwara brothel. Distant figures make their way along the Nihon embankment linking the Yoshiwara to Edo, carried in covered palanquins or sheltered by umbrellas.

Image data

Accession Number: P.48-2010
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Aperture: f/16.0
Focal length: 80
Camera: Hasselblad H3DII-31
Photographer name: Michael Jones
Image height: 1024 pixels
Image width: 750 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.6 (Macintosh)
Filesize: 294.04kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 16/1
Captured: 2013:08:19 10:35:14

Key words

18th Century 458392 Date Department Edo Period Fitz_PDP Interior/Exterior Japanese Medium Nationalities Object Type Other Keywords Workflow _WF_AdOK _WF_KWD _WF_OPACtd _WF_PCtd aiban benigirai-e brothel clothes clothing costume courtesan embossed fashion female geigi geiko geisha hair hairstyle harem interior kanzashi hairpin karazuri kimono obi palanquin pleasure quarters print rain raining rainy sash waiting window woman women woodblock woodcut

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024)
            "Yoshiwara, by Katsukawa Shuncho"
            Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-188717 Accessed: 2024-12-18 23:51:02

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            {{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-188717
            |title=Yoshiwara, by Katsukawa Shuncho
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-18 23:51:02|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp67/P_48_2010_CE.jpg"
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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Yoshiwara, by Katsukawa Shuncho</figcaption>
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