This print depicts Akashi of the Tamaya, accompanied by two junior courtesans (Uraji and Shimano), from the "Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara" series — a group of compositions comparing famous Yoshiwara courtesans to the legendary Heian beauty Ono no Komachi. Dated to around 1789, the work presents the group in a formal, hierarchical arrangement typical of brothel-hierarchy prints. The "Seven Komachi" framework elevated contemporary courtesans to a classical literary register.
![A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi") by Kitagawa Utamaro](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/ed82be98-8a83-4163-ccc4-e2f7210cce55/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
c. 1794/95
Color woodblock print; oban
c. 1793
color woodblock print
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano) was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).
Yes — Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano) is part of the Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara series by Kitagawa Utamaro.
Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano) depicts figures, bijin-ga, and yoshiwara.
