Courtesan Reading a Letter
1804
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
1804
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Courtesan Reading a Letter is a 1804 unspecified by Teisai Hokuba, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a courtesan in a rich kimono reading a letter by lamplight. She sits alone in a quiet room filled with books and scrolls. The poem beside her hints she’s staying past closing time in Edo’s pleasure district. Ukiyo-e prints like this mixed everyday life with stories from classic poetry. The letter’s poem comes from an old tale about a woman who prays for rain, tying her longing to staying late here. See how the soft light and delicate lines focus on her quiet moment. If you like this, look up Hokuba’s other prints.
Ukiyo-e artists and collaborating poets introduced imagery from classical literature to add layers of meaning to their work. Here, a courtesan pores over a letter from an admirer, and the poem next to her reads as follows: "Having been asked to stay over, / I stayed on—and for a good reason. / It’s way past midnight / and the lady is that (legendary implorer) Amagoi Komachi." Midnight was closing time in Yoshiwara, the licensed brothel district of Edo (now Tokyo). Amagoi, or “Praying for Rain,” Komachi refers to ninth-century poet Ono no Komachi—known for her compelling verse and great…
Read the full account in the museum source.
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