Models of Fashion: New Designs as Fresh Young Leaves: The Courtesan Tagasode of Daimonjiya with Katsuru, Tomeki, and Attendants

Beautiful women, especially the famous and fashionable courtesans of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter of Edo, were popular subjects of Japanese prints. These glamorous and alluring women were feminine counterparts to the kabuki actors who attracted admirers both on- and offstage. This print belongs to the longest series in ukiyo-e; some 150 designs under the same title were produced from 1776 to 1781 by two publishers, Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudo) and Tsutaya Jusaburo, with designs mostly by Koryusai and eleven by Kiyonaga. The larger oban format of this series, which subsequently became the dominant choice for publishers and artists, was relatively novel at this time. Koryusai's designs presented high-ranking courtesans and their attendants displaying their colorful and flamboyant garments as they would have done when parading through the Yoshiwara. The highest-ranking courtesan here wears a kimono with a landscape of Mount Fuji. Her attendants wear coordinating costumes. The names of the brothel, the courtesan, and two of her attendants are inscribed above.