菱川師宣画　衝立のかげに 遊女と若衆|Courtesan with a Young Man (Wakashu) beside a Screen

Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣

ca. 1679–84 · Woodblock print (sumizuri-e); ink and hand-applied color on paper; horizontal ōban · Asian Art

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.

Artist

Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣

Date

ca. 1679–84

Medium

Woodblock print (sumizuri-e); ink and hand-applied color on paper; horizontal ōban

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Lee E. Dirks, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2020