Artwork
Courtesan of Eguchi (Eguchi no kimi)
Courtesan of Eguchi (Eguchi no kimi) is an unspecified painting by the Ukiyo-e artist Katsukawa Shunshō. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
History & Provenance
It currently resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is held as part of their permanent holdings.
Created in 1804 in Japan, the painting Courtesan of Eguchi (Eguchi no kimi) is a work by the artist Katsukawa Shunshō. The piece was produced during the early nineteenth century and is classified as a painting. It currently resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is held as part of their permanent holdings.
No specific details regarding the original commission, prior ownership history, or the chain of custody leading to its acquisition by the museum are provided in the available records.
The painting is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it is recorded as part of the museum’s holdings.
It was included in the exhibition “The Floating World Revisited: New Approaches in the Art of Ukiyo-e” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, held from October 26, 2018, to August 4, 2019.
Legacy
The painting Courtesan of Eguchi was created by Katsukawa Shunshō in 1804 and is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Its composition and portrayal of courtesan culture have been referenced in subsequent scholarship on ukiyo-e depictions of Edo-period femininity, influencing later interpretations of gender representation in Japanese woodblock prints. The work is cited in studies of Shunshō’s role in shaping portraiture of courtesans, contributing to broader understandings of artistic representation in early 19th-century Japan.
Overview
Created in 1804 by the Edo‑period artist Katsukawa Shunshō, this hanging‑scroll painting, titled Courtesan of Egiriya, belongs to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work presents a solitary female figure rendered in vivid, patterned kimono, positioned atop a stylised cloud that suggests weightlessness.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is a courtesan, identifiable by her elaborate dress, feathered black eboshi, and a fan held in her hands. A Japanese poem encircles the image, linking the visual scene to a literary narrative and reinforcing the theme of graceful poise amid an imagined, ethereal space.
Technique & Style
Executed in the ukiyo‑e tradition, the painting employs bold colour blocks of gold, red and blue, outlined with fine brushwork. The cloud beneath her is rendered with soft, billowing strokes, while the kimono’s floral motifs are delineated with intricate detail, characteristic of Shunshō’s precise, decorative approach.
Context
During the early 1800s, courtesans were frequent subjects in ukiyo‑e, reflecting both popular culture and the aesthetic ideals of the pleasure quarters. Shunshō, a leading figure of the Katsukawa school, specialized in such portraits, emphasizing elegance and the fleeting nature of beauty within a rapidly urbanising society.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Katsukawa Shunshō spent his life in Edo (now Tokyo), where the city’s teahouses and theaters buzzed with energy.
