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Courtesan and Two Kamuro Promenading on a City Street by Kitagawa Utamaro — Japanese Woodblock print

Courtesan and Two Kamuro Promenading on a City Street

by Kitagawa Utamaro

Ukiyo-e
Urban ScenesBijin-ga
Medium:
Woodblock print
Source:
AGGV
Image courtesy of
AGGV

Description

A courtesan in an elaborate patterned kimono strides at center among a crowded street scene, flanked by two young attendants in floral robes with their hair worn up; the courtesan wears tall black lacquered geta and a robe combining dark panels, white floral motifs, and cloud designs, with an obi tied at the front. Behind them a dense crowd fills a two-story building with balconies and hanging lanterns, and vertical text cartouches with the location name appear in the upper right. The palette is dominated by indigo blues, warm browns and ochres, black, and cream, giving the scene a bustling, orderly composition typical of a woodblock print by Kitagawa Utamaro.

More Prints by Kitagawa Utamaro

Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano) by Kitagawa Utamaro

Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano)

Woodblock print

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 by Kitagawa Utamaro

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

Woodblock print

Ikebana arrangement of Peony and Willow in Dragon Pot by Kitagawa Utamaro

Ikebana arrangement of Peony and Willow in Dragon Pot

1781–1806

Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper

The Greatest Beauties of Our Time (Toji zensei bijin zoroe): Somenosuke of the Matsubaya with Attendants Wakagi and Wakaba by Kitagawa Utamaro

The Greatest Beauties of Our Time (Toji zensei bijin zoroe): Somenosuke of the Matsubaya with Attendants Wakagi and Wakaba

Woodblock print

More Urban Scenes Prints

A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kiyonaga's Pipe (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kiyonaga no kiseru) by Paul Binnie

A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kiyonaga's Pipe (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kiyonaga no kiseru)

Woodblock print

View of Kabuki Theater from Matsuya (Ginza Matsuya yori Kabukiza), no. 3 from the series "Pictures of Ginza, First Series (Gashu Ginza dai isshu)" by Oda Kazuma

View of Kabuki Theater from Matsuya (Ginza Matsuya yori Kabukiza), no. 3 from the series "Pictures of Ginza, First Series (Gashu Ginza dai isshu)"

1928

Color lithograph

Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)" by Oda Kazuma

Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)"

1930

Color lithograph

Spring Dusk at the Tōshō Shrine in Ueno by Kawase Hasui

Spring Dusk at the Tōshō Shrine in Ueno

1948

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Bijin-ga: Japanese Beauty Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Courtesan and Two Kamuro Promenading on a City Street was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).

Courtesan and Two Kamuro Promenading on a City Street depicts urban scenes and bijin-ga.