Description
Courtesan Hatsuito of a brothel named Yamashiroya is likened to autumnal bush clover in this series comparing the qualities of courtesans to flowers. Hatsuito ties her servant’s obi sash while a gibbon emerges from a painting in the room’s viewing alcove to offer a love letter on which Hatsuito’s name appears. Gibbons reaching in vain for the moon’s reflection in water is a common metaphor for the deluded mind, and bush clover in moonlight is a popular seasonal motif. Here, the ideas are combined as the gibbon woos this unattainable beauty.
Provenance
Mr. Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857–1926] and Mrs. Ellen Garretson Wade [1859–1917], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?–1916); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1916–)
Hatsuito of the Yamashiroya Likened to Bush Clover, from Beauties of the Floating World Compared to Flowers
1769–70
Accession Number
1916.1157
Medium
color woodblock print
Dimensions
Sheet: 28.7 x 21.8 cm (11 5/16 x 8 9/16 in.)
Classification
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
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