Courtesans of Maruya, from the book "Mirror of Beautiful Women of the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro bijin awase sugata kagami)," vol. 2

Courtesans of Maruya, from volume two of the celebrated book Seirō bijin awase sugata kagami, is a benchmark of Kitao Shigemasa's mature work as a leading designer of Edo ukiyo-e. Published in 1776 and held in the Art Institute of Chicago, the book is a collaborative project between Shigemasa and Katsukawa Shunshō that surveys the most prominent courtesans of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters of the An'ei era. The page depicts the women of the Maruya establishment in carefully observed costume, with attention to the layering of robes, the patterning of fabric, and the distinctive hair ornaments that signaled rank and house. As founder of the Kitao school, Shigemasa contributed a refined approach to bijinga that emphasized poise, composure, and quietly individuated facial types, an approach that distinguished his women from the more sensual, idealized figures developed later by Kitagawa Utamaro. The Art Institute of Chicago's holding of this book is among the most accessible in North America and remains an essential resource for the study of late eighteenth-century pleasure quarter culture. The print's full-page illustrations, with text describing the women's accomplishments in poetry, music, and calligraphy, also document how the Yoshiwara was marketed to a literate urban audience as a site of cultivated leisure rather than merely sensual entertainment. Within Shigemasa's career, Seirō bijin awase sugata kagami stands as a foundational achievement, demonstrating the Kitao school's role in shaping the visual vocabulary of bijinga and serving as a touchstone for collectors and museums seeking to understand the development of Edo ukiyo-e in the decades preceding Utamaro's rise.