Oshu of the Yamaguchiya, from the series "Models for Fashion: New Designs as Fresh as Young Leaves (Hinagata wakana no hatsu moyo)"

Isoda Koryusai's portrait of Oshu of the Yamaguchiya, dated 1772 by the Art Institute of Chicago (artwork 21376), belongs to Models for Fashion: New Designs as Fresh as Young Leaves (Hinagata wakana no hatsu moyo), the long-running series that defined Edo bijin-ga in the 1770s. The Yamaguchiya was a recognized house of the Yoshiwara, and Oshu's name appears in the title cartouche together with her house identification, in keeping with the documentary protocol that Hinagata Wakana imposed across more than one hundred sheets. The full-length composition places Oshu alone against a blank ground, the standard template that Koryusai refined throughout the series. Layered robes and a heavy outer over-kimono fill the entire picture surface with patterned textile, the broad obi is tied prominently in front in the manner reserved for courtesans, and a tall arrangement of pins and combs rises above a face rendered with the small mouth and elongated oval favored by the period. The pose is angled enough to show both the collars and the obi knot, in keeping with the series' function as a seasonal catalogue of designs adopted by the leading women of the named houses. The Art Institute's record preserves the named woman, the named house, the year, and the series title, anchoring the impression precisely within Koryusai's systematic survey of the Yoshiwara.