The Courtesans Hinazuru and Karauta of the Chojiya Holding a Letter

Isoda Koryusai created this double-figure composition in 1771, presenting two prominent oiran of the Chojiya, one of the most celebrated brothels in the Yoshiwara licensed quarter. Hinazuru and Karauta are shown together, their figures arranged so that a single letter passes between them, transforming a private epistolary moment into a public emblem of refinement. The letter motif is central to Edo bijin-ga, signaling literacy, romantic intrigue, and the cultivated emotional life that high-ranking courtesans were expected to embody for their patrons. Koryusai exploits the format to layer textile patterns against one another, contrasting checked and floral robes with the broad sashes wrapped at the front in the manner reserved for women of the licensed quarter. Each face is rendered with the small mouth, narrow eyes, and long oval favored by Edo-period printmakers of the early 1770s, yet Koryusai gives each courtesan a distinct tilt of the head so that the pair reads as conversational rather than mirrored. The print is part of the broader cultural project that Koryusai pursued throughout the decade, including the long-running Hinagata Wakana series of fashion models, in which named courtesans from specific houses functioned as both portraits and advertisements for the seasonal taste of the quarter. Holdings at the Art Institute of Chicago document the impression catalogued under accession-page 82292, and the museum's record provides the attribution, date, and house identifications used here. The composition demonstrates how Koryusai used paired bijin imagery to chart relationships among Yoshiwara houses, courtesans, and their clientele with the precision of a social register.