Wakana of the Matsubaya, from the series "Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters as the Six Floral Immortals (Seiro bijin rokkasen)"

Wakana of the Matsubaya, from the series Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters as the Six Floral Immortals (Seiro bijin rokkasen), dated 1789 in the Art Institute of Chicago, casts the named courtesan Wakana of the Matsubaya house in one of the six roles of the canonical Heian Rokkasen. Chōbunsai Eishi structured the series so that each sheet aligned a specific Yoshiwara beauty with one of the six poets selected by Ki no Tsurayuki in the Kokin wakashū preface, layering the prestige of classical literature onto the celebrity portrait of the pleasure quarters. The Matsubaya was one of the leading houses of the Yoshiwara, and Wakana's appearance in the series indicates her standing. Eishi's Chobunsai school treatment is unmistakable: elongated proportions, long unbroken contour lines, restrained color, and the use of patterned textile to carry both rank and design. His earlier training under the Kano master Eisen'in Michinobu lent his prints a spatial composure that suited literary mitate, and his samurai-class education prepared him to handle classical reference with confidence. The yatsushi mode invites the viewer to read the sheet on two registers, enjoying the contemporary face while recognizing the classical poet behind it. The Art Institute of Chicago records the impression's 1789 date and its place within Seiro bijin rokkasen, making it useful for tracing how Eishi systematically tied named oiran to the classical canon in his most productive late 1780s period of Edo [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga).