The Goddess Benten Holding a Biwa and a Young Man Holding a Shoulder Drum, from the series "Comparing the Smiles of the Lucky Gods (Fukujin egao kurabe)"

This Katsukawa Shunsho design from the series Comparing the Smiles of the Lucky Gods (Fukujin Egao Kurabe), held by the Art Institute of Chicago, pairs the goddess Benten holding a biwa with a young man holding a shoulder drum. Dated to the mid-1780s, the print belongs to the later phase of Shunsho's career, when he expanded his work beyond yakusha-e into other genres of Edo ukiyo-e, including bijin-ga and mitate compositions that paired contemporary figures with deities. Benten, one of the seven lucky gods and the patron of music and eloquence, traditionally appears with her stringed biwa, while the young man's shoulder drum aligns him visually with the divine theme. The mitate convention, in which sacred and worldly figures are juxtaposed in elegant pairings, allowed Edo viewers to enjoy a play of reference between cultic imagery and the everyday world of the floating world. Shunsho's drawing balances the two figures with characteristic poise, rendering Benten's robes and the young man's stylish dress with equal attention. As a Katsukawa school production, the work demonstrates that Shunsho's command of nigao-e likeness and theatrical pictorial intelligence could be redirected into iconographic series that addressed religion, music, and seasonal celebration. The sheet stands as evidence of the breadth of his late practice within the larger Edo ukiyo-e ecosystem.