「大坂新町ねりもの つる屋 琴鶴太夫 あさづま舟」|The Courtesan Kotozuru of the Tsuruya Brothel as an Asazuma Boat Prostitute (Tsuruya Kotozuru-dayū Asazuma-bune), from the series Costume Parade of the Shinmachi Quarter in Osaka (Ōsaka Shinmachi nerimono)
Yanagawa Shigenobu 柳川重信
1822 · Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban · Asian Art
The courtesan Kotozuru from the Tsuruya Brothel in Osaka is costumed in a male courtier’s cap and capacious robes associated with the cross-dressed female entertainers who took clients out in boats at Asazuma on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. This print is from a series inspired by the summertime costume parades that were held annually in the Shinmachi brothel district of Osaka, created by the Edo-based artist Shigenobu. Both Shinmachi, Osaka’s government-sanctioned brothel district, and Shimanouchi, a large unlicensed district to the southwest, hosted costume parades featuring teahouse waitresses, geiko (geisha), and courtesans performing skits or pantomimes of well-known figures (both female and male) from Japanese legend, literature, popular theater, and contemporary society.
- Artist
- Yanagawa Shigenobu 柳川重信
- Date
- 1822
- Medium
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban
- Culture
- Japan
- Department
- Asian Art
- Credit line
- Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2020
