![A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi") by Kitagawa Utamaro — Japanese Color woodblock print; oban, c. 1794/95](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/ed82be98-8a83-4163-ccc4-e2f7210cce55/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi")
- Date:
- c. 1794/95
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; oban
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
From Utamaro's celebrated series "Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" (Hokkoku goshiki-zumi), this sheet presents a low-ranking prostitute known by the slang term "teppo" (literally "gun") — one of the coded social gradations within the Yoshiwara's hierarchy. The series systematically examined different ranks and types within the pleasure district, and this figure's plain, unadorned appearance contrasts deliberately with the elaborate dress of the high-ranking courtesans in the same series. Printed around 1794–95.
c. 1793
color woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi") was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿) in c. 1794/95.
Yes — A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi") is part of the Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter series by Kitagawa Utamaro.
A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi") depicts urban scenes.