Courtesan with a Young Man (Wakashu) beside a Screen
In ukiyo-e prints, male youths known as wakashu—identified by unshaved forelocks and an upright topknot—are often paired with courtesans. This image belongs to a set of fourteen erotic prints known as makura-e (pillow pictures), or shunga (spring pictures) in modern parlance. While most makura-e within a set tend to be explicit, there are usually two or three earlier in the sequence, as here, that merely hint at romance.
Artwork Details
- 菱川師宣画 衝立のかげに 遊女と若衆
- Title: Courtesan with a Young Man (Wakashu) beside a Screen
- Artist: Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 (Japanese, 1618–1694)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: ca. 1679–84
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Woodblock print (sumizuri-e); ink and hand-applied color on paper; horizontal ōban
- Dimensions: Image: 10 3/4 × 14 1/2 in. (27.3 × 36.8 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Lee E. Dirks, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2020
- Object Number: 2020.195
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣
ca. 1695
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣
ca. 1680
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣
ca. 1680
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣
ca. 1675–80
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