Courtesans of the Chojiya and their attendants playing kemari

Courtesans of the Chojiya and their attendants playing kemari, dated 1786 in Art Institute of Chicago records, is a multi-figure composition by Utagawa Toyokuni that places the women of one of the famous Yoshiwara brothels in the unusual setting of an aristocratic ball-kicking game. Kemari, an ancient courtly pastime in which players kept a feathered ball aloft using only their feet, was associated with Heian-era nobility and with elite male leisure; transferring it to courtesans of the Chojiya is a typical Edo [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) mitate, blending classical reference with the fashion theatre of the licensed quarters. Toyokuni arranges the figures so that the ball and the kicking foot become the energetic center of the design, with kimono sleeves and obi extending outward in long, decorative arcs. The detailed costumes also serve as advertisements for the Chojiya itself; courtesans' names and house affiliations were a recognizable part of the visual code, and viewers in Edo would have read the print partly as a who's-who of contemporary celebrities. While Toyokuni's later fame would rest on [yakusha-e](/glossary/yakusha-e), designs like this one demonstrate how thoroughly he was steeped in [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) and group scenes from the start. As Edo ukiyo-e, the print weaves together courtly pastime, brothel publicity, and group portraiture in a single sheet, preserved at the Art Institute of Chicago as part of its holdings of Utagawa Toyokuni's early work.