3-016-211 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Ichikawa of the Matsubaya, 1790-1800. The oiran, or high-ranking yüjo ‘woman of pleasure’ Ichikawa, who worked in the Matsuba house in the Edomachi Itchome district of the Yoshiwara. She is pictured here in the loose, flowing garments and informal front - tyingobi (sash), fashionable with yüjo of the time. She holds a brass pipe in her right hand and sits with a lacquer box of smoking utensils. The koi (carp) leaping upwards through a waterfall on her gorgeous uchikake (over-kimono) was associated with perseverance, and with love. The first quality is suggested in Ichikawa’s tired, poignant pose and expression, reflecting her resignation to the harsh indenture of the quarters. The latter reference is more ironic, as there was little true love to be found in brothel engagements.