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Early Evening at a Yoshiwara Inn
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 Japanese
Not on view
This painting looks into the interior of a teahouse (ageya) in the Yoshiwara, the licensed pleasure quarter on the outskirts of the city of Edo. When a patron sought the services of a high-ranking courtesan there, she would be summoned to meet him at an ageya where they would dine and spend the night together.
The quality of the brushwork in this painting is evident in many of the details. Fine gold lines define and decorate many of the kimonos, and the overall attention to detail is remarkable. Moronobu produced many handscrolls and paintings of the customs of the Yoshiwara, but the skilled draftsmanship here suggests that the artist painted this work in response to a special commission from a wealthy patron.
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