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Yoshiwara Courtesans: A New Mirror Comparing the Calligraphy of Beauties (Yoshiwara keisei: Shin bijin awase jihitsu kagami)吉原傾城」新美人合自筆鏡

1784, first month
Not on view
Courtesans were alluring not only for their great beauty but also for their artistic and social accomplishments. To be received into their company took aplomb as well as discreet but lavish expenditure. This book chronicles some of the leading women of the day, pairing their portraits with reproductions of each woman's calligraphy. Hinazuru, on the right, has selected a poem by the tenth-century poet Fujiwara Sanesada for her presentation:

I turn to look for the summer warbler singing
but there is nothing but the moon left at dawn.

Her colleague, Chozan, uses a classic anonymous poem from the ninth-century Imperial Kokinshu Anthology:

The flying geese leave the spring mists behind without
a glance—perhaps they are simply used to living in a village
without flowers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 「吉原傾城」新美人合自筆鏡
  • Title: Yoshiwara Courtesans: A New Mirror Comparing the Calligraphy of Beauties (Yoshiwara keisei: Shin bijin awase jihitsu kagami)吉原傾城」新美人合自筆鏡
  • Artist: Kitao Masanobu (Santō Kyōden) 北尾政演 (山東京伝) (Japanese, 1761–1816)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: 1784, first month
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Polychrome woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Overall: 14 7/8 × 10 3/16 in. (37.8 × 25.8 cm)
  • Classification: Illustrated Books
  • Credit Line: The Howard Mansfield Collection, Gift of Howard Mansfield, 1936
  • Object Number: JIB91
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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A New Record Comparing the Handwriting of the Courtesans of the Yoshiwara (Yoshiwara keisei shin bijin jihitsu kagami) 吉原傾城新美人自筆鏡, Kitao Masanobu (Santō Kyōden) 北尾政演 (山東京伝) Japanese, Woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper, Japan
A New Record Comparing the Handwriting of the Courtesans of the Yoshiwara (Yoshiwara keisei shin bijin jihitsu kagami) 吉原傾城新美人自筆鏡
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