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Entertainment Scene

Miyagawa Chōshun

1732

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Baroque Ukiyo-e 18th Century Genre Scene

Dominant colour

Entertainment Scene is a 1732 unspecified by Miyagawa Chōshun, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Miyagawa Chōshun
When & what style?: 1732 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a courtesan in a bright kimono entering a room full of musicians, dancers, and a lounging samurai. The painting shows how power worked in Edo-period Japan. The courtesan isn’t just performing—she controls the money and attention in the room. The samurai’s wealth flows through her, then to the other entertainers. It’s a quiet snapshot of social rules most viewers today wouldn’t notice. Look up *Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)* to see more scenes like this.

The story of this work

Overview

This painting captures the moment when a high-ranking courtesan accompanied by two trainees makes her grand entrance into a salon. The guest of honor, a samurai who reclines beneath a striped robe while dangling his fan, turns from the musical entertainment to gaze at the spectacle of her arrival. The fortunes of everyone in the room depend on how she orchestrates the rest of the evening, as the more the samurai spends on her services, the more trickles down to the other entertainers who are present.

Read the full account in the museum source.