「青楼美人六花仙　扇屋花扇」|The Courtesan Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya Brothel (Ōgiya Hanaōgi), from the series Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters as Six Floral Immortals (Seirō bijin rokkasen)

Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之

ca. 1794 (Kansei 6) · Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper · Asian Art

「青楼美人六花仙　扇屋花扇」|The Courtesan Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya Brothel (Ōgiya Hanaōgi), from the series Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters as Six Floral Immortals (Seirō bijin rokkasen) — Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之

The high-ranked courtesan Hanaōgi (literally, “flowery fan”) from the Ōgiya (House of Fans) brothel in Yoshiwara is shown seated at her desk with the accoutrements of a writer, suggesting that she is a dedicated poet and calligrapher. We assume that Chōbunsai Eishi was creating an imaginary portrait of the talented Hanaōgi IV. Each print in this series includes in its title the phrase rokkasen, which sounds like it should mean Six Poetic Immortals, but the character for “poetry” has been playfully substituted with that for “flower,” suggesting that the women of the pleasure quarters are being compared to beautiful flowers.

Artist: Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之
Date: ca. 1794 (Kansei 6)
Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Culture: Japan
Department: Asian Art
Credit line: Rogers Fund, 1919

「青楼美人六花仙 扇屋花扇」|The Courtesan Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya Brothel (Ōgiya Hanaōgi), from the series Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters as Six Floral Immortals (Seirō bijin rokkasen)

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「青楼美人六花仙　扇屋花扇」|The Courtesan Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya Brothel (Ōgiya Hanaōgi), from the series Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters as Six Floral Immortals (Seirō bijin rokkasen)