A Test of Skill - the Headwaters of Amorousness (Jitsu kurabe iro no minakami): Osan and Mohei
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image courtesy of
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
This print from A Test of Skill — the Headwaters of Amorousness (Jitsu kurabe iro no minakami) depicts Osan and Mohei, protagonists of a celebrated adultery scandal that inspired both Ihara Saikaku's prose and numerous theatrical adaptations. Osan, wife of a Kyoto money-changer, and Mohei, her husband's clerk, were executed in 1708 after their affair was discovered — a story that combined transgression, pathos, and social critique. Utamaro situates them as famous lovers within a series that catalogued celebrated pairs from history, legend, and popular fiction. The composition likely shows the couple in close proximity, using diagonal figure arrangement and contrasting textile patterns to suggest both intimacy and social disparity.
More Prints by Kitagawa Utamaro
Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano)
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Hour of the Tiger (Tora no koku = 4 AM) from the series Twelve Hours in Yoshiwara (Seirô jûni toki tsuzuki), Late Edo period, circa 1794
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Ikebana arrangement of Peony and Willow in Dragon Pot
1781–1806
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The Greatest Beauties of Our Time (Toji zensei bijin zoroe): Somenosuke of the Matsubaya with Attendants Wakagi and Wakaba
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More Temples & Shrines Prints
Fushimi Inari Temple
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The Compound of the Tenman Shrine at Kameido in the Snow (Kameido Tenmangu keidai no yuki), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/38
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A Section of the Byodo Temple at Uji (Uji Byodoin no ichibu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
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Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Test of Skill - the Headwaters of Amorousness (Jitsu kurabe iro no minakami): Osan and Mohei was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).
A Test of Skill - the Headwaters of Amorousness (Jitsu kurabe iro no minakami): Osan and Mohei depicts temples & shrines.