Streetwalkers Taking a Break in Yoshida-machi, Honjo
- Date:
- January 1881
- Medium:
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 17.9 × 23.8 cm
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
This January 1881 print captures a scene of working-class women on the streets of Honjo, a district of eastern Edo known for its artisans and laborers rather than its courtesans. Yoshitoshi depicts the women with sociological specificity—their dress, posture, and location mark them clearly as "nighthawks," the lowest tier of unlicensed streetwalkers who operated outside the officially sanctioned pleasure districts. The composition is notable for its unsentimental documentary quality, presenting the subjects with dignity rather than moral judgment.
More Prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
More Urban Scenes Prints
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)"
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)"
1930
Color lithograph
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Streetwalkers Taking a Break in Yoshida-machi, Honjo was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in January 1881.
Streetwalkers Taking a Break in Yoshida-machi, Honjo depicts urban scenes, figures, and bijin-ga.
Streetwalkers Taking a Break in Yoshida-machi, Honjo measures 17.9 × 23.8 cm (Oban format).