2-743-731 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Courtesan Takigawa of Ogiya (from the series A Selection of Beautiful Women of the East), c. 1798. The courtesan Takigawa worked for the Ogiya, "House of Fans" brothel, one of the most prestigious in the Yoshiwara. Here, she smokes tobacco, a fashionable trend in 18th-century Edo. Fashion-conscious women in Edo purchased prints of the most famous beauties just as contemporary women buy fashion magazines to learn about the latest styles in make-up and hair. The strands of hair at her temple were printed from thin pieces of wood left in relief when the areas on either side of them were carved away.