Courtesan and her Attendant under a Cherry Tree

A high-ranking courtesan, bedecked in a striking black surcoat decorated with a peacock feather motif, pauses in her stroll outside during the peak of cherry blossom season. She is accompanied by a girl attendant (kamuro) adorned in a coordinated set of garments and obi. The scene is set in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters, where the custom of temporarily planting a row of cherry trees down the middle of Nakanochō, the central boulevard of the district, had arisen by the mid-eighteenth century. Courtesans and other brothel employees enjoyed a day’s holiday, a “Flower-Viewing Day,” in the third month. On this day, courtesans could picnic in the Ueno Hills or in the Sensōji Temple in Asakusa, on Mukōjima, across the Sumida River—locations that were famous for their cherry trees.

Recognized as the founder of the Utagawa school, Utagawa Toyoharu both created paintings and designed prints. He earned esteem for his mastery of “Western-style perspective” and for placing figures in landscapes.