A Courtesan and Her Attendants with a Revolving Shadow Lantern

A courtesan and her two young female attendants enjoy watching a type of revolving shadow lantern (mawari dōrō). A spinning wheel was attached to a stick inserted into the middle to act as the spinner. When a candle was lit and placed inside the lantern, the rising air current caused the wheel to spin, which in turn rotated the inner frame and cast a shadow on the outer layer. The revolving lantern consists of an outer frame onto which a thin layer of paper is attached, and inside is a paper cylinder with cut-out shapes of a procession of a courtesan and her entourage. A candle illuminates the cylinder as it is rotated to create optical illusion that the figures are in motion. Here the lantern projects a parading courtesan (shinzō), child attendants (kamuro), and servants (kasha). Though the print is entitled Keisei nayose (names of courtesans), the libretto is actually a playful song incorporating the names of brothel districts.

The print lacks a seal, but the distinctive figure style aligns with that of Okumura Masanobu. The courtesan’s hairstyle indicates that the print was designed in the 1710s or 1720s. This is an example of a tan-e, a type of early print that is hand-colored with an orange-red (tan) pigment as well as yellow, crimson, pale indigo, and green—popular from around 1688 to the 1710s.