Tamaya uchi Hanamurasaki Sekiya, Teriha [Hana-murasaki of the Tamaya], Kitagawa Utamaro

Archive Label date unknown: Hana-murasaki was the most prestigious courtesan name at the Tamaya ("Jewel House") brothel in the Yoshiwara pleasure district of Edo. The name remained a constant, and courtesans who were brought into the house as children aspired to earn the right to take on the name as they progressed in their careers. In this print, the 1794 Hana-muraski's child apprentices (kamurō) Sekiya and Teriha, are noted but not pictured. Archive Label 1988: The art of portraying bijin (beautiful women) has had a long tradition in Japan, with courtesans as the most common subject. Often highly trained and educated, these women wielded considerable power within their limited world of the pleasure quarters. Since they also represented the height of fashion, print designers focused on the courtesans' elaborate hairstyles and gorgeous robes. The woodblock prints here depict three different views of idealized womanhood dictated by the changing tastes of the day. Harunobu's courtesan composing a letter is a frail, childlike woman who kneels before a writing box containing ink brushes and an inkstone. Utamaro's haughty courtesan is the antithesis of Harunobu's sweet maiden. The monumental, full-scale figure fills the entire space of the picture as she lazily stretches in total self-absorption. Her hairstyle is more complex, and her robe is rendered in bold, sweeping lines that create an elegant design. Kunisada's beauties strolling beneath plum trees in the third print assume less idealized proportions, but wear by far the most elaborate costumes. The use of intense colors with silver and gold accents contributes to the suptuousness of the kimono and headdresses.