Takigawa of the Ogiya in the First Sale of the New Year (Hatsu uri zashiki no zu), from the series "A Comparison of Selected Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro bisen awase)"

Takigawa of the Ogiya in the First Sale of the New Year (Hatsu uri zashiki no zu), from the series A Comparison of Selected Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro bisen awase), dated 1789 in the Art Institute of Chicago, returns Chōbunsai Eishi to the figure of Takigawa, the leading courtesan of the Ogiya, within another systematic catalogue of Yoshiwara beauties. The series Seiro bisen awase aligns named oiran with the seasonal rituals of the licensed quarters, and the hatsu-uri zashiki, the ceremonial first-sale reception of the new year, was one of the calendar's most important moments. Eishi treats Takigawa with the elevated dignity her standing demanded, presenting her in the elongated Chobunsai school proportions, long unbroken contour lines, and the restrained palette that became his settled idiom. His earlier training in the Kano studio of Eisen'in Michinobu in the shogun's atelier lent his late 1780s prints a measured spatial composure that suits the formal protocols of the hatsu-uri scene. Patterned textiles bear the weight of marking rank and identity, while the cartouches anchor the print as a documentary record of a specific courtesan, house, and seasonal event. The print is a paradigm of how Eishi structured his Edo [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) around the named oiran of the Yoshiwara at a particular moment in the city's annual cycle. The Art Institute of Chicago records the 1789 date and confirms the impression's place in the series.