Futatsuryu of Izutsuya as a Musician (Hayashi), from the series "Parade of the Shimanouchi Pleasure Quarter (Shimanouchi nerimono)"

This color woodblock print in oban format dated 1836 and held by the Art Institute of Chicago is from the series Parade of the Shimanouchi Pleasure Quarter (Shimanouchi nerimono), depicting the courtesan Futatsuryu of the Izutsuya house in the role of a musician (Hayashi). Nerimono, or processional parades, were elaborate public displays in which the courtesans of a licensed quarter dressed in costumes representing characters from classical theater, history, or legend and paraded through the streets in formal procession. The Shimanouchi quarter, located in Osaka, mounted nerimono as periodic festivals, and print series documenting these parades were popular souvenirs and advertisements for the houses involved. The print shows Futatsuryu in her musician's costume, with the elegant deportment and elaborate hairstyle that marked the highest-ranking courtesans. The Shimanouchi nerimono series falls outside Hokuju's better-known landscape work and demonstrates his ability to take on the figure subjects that remained the commercial mainstay of ukiyo-e. The sheet's mid-1830s date places it relatively late in his career, when Hiroshige and the maturing Hokusai had already begun to dominate the landscape market.