Keisai Eisen
1790 – 1848
Courtesan with Two Attendants under Cherry Tree
Dimensions: 39.05 cm x 26.35 cm
Medium: color woodcut on paper
Date Created: 1790-1848
Keisai Eisen was born in the Edo period of Japan, characterized by isolationist foreign policies but a thriving economy and culture within the country’s borders. Eisen was a successful artist specializing in woodblock prints of beautiful women, known as bijinga. Eisen captures the rich detail and colors of the courtesan’s attire, as these images identified popular fashions and were circulated among the upper class. The adornment of elaborate drapery on this courtesan reaffirms her higher class status relative to common prostitutes of the time, known as yūjo. She is heavily decorated and attended by two figures, possibly en route to an entertaining gathering of upper-class society. This courtesan is displayed under a cherry tree, known for their intense but short-lived beauty. The cherry tree is also often used for decoration around the New Year to symbolize rebirth, which is perhaps another gendered-female social concept.
