Two Beauties Reading a Letter

Another Art Institute of Chicago hashira-e of circa 1780–1800, this design shows two women — most likely a courtesan and a companion or attendant — bent together over an unfolded letter. The motif of women reading correspondence was a staple of bijin-ga: letters from clients were intimate evidence of attachment in a world where the public exchange between courtesan and patron was carefully choreographed, and prints picturing the moment of private reading offered viewers a vicarious glimpse into that interior life. Eishō telescopes the two figures into the pillar format with characteristic economy, their heads bowed toward each other at the top of the design and the long sweep of their kimono trailing downward to fill the lower register. The taut diagonal of the letter held between them gives the composition its energy.