Kohōgi sōkōmei (Courtesan as the Opportune Rain)

Kubo Shumman

1757–1820

Kohōgi sōkōmei (Courtesan as the Opportune Rain), circa 1800, Edo period (1600–1868)

Portfolio/Series title: Santō no shigure (Autumn Rain in Shandong) (Would That They Could Change)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: color woodcut

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 200 x 89 mm
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 7 7/8 x 3 1/2 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 x 11 in

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 0000.1516

Not on display

Add to portfolio

If you wish to reproduce this image, please submit an image request

Images

Label texts

Archive Label date unknown:
Would That They Could Change was a prose romance popular at the end of the Edo period but probably written around the twelfth century. Two children, a boy and a girl, were born into a noble family. The boy was fair and gentle, while the girl was spirited and outgoing, so their father raised them as though they belonged to the oppositte sex. The children were happy, but when they eventually took positions at court, their exchanged sexual identities caused them difficulty and embarrassment. Finally, they returned to the ranks of their real sex, and thenceforth both of them flourished.