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Courtesans Promenading on the Nakanochō
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Nakanochō was the main street in Yoshiwara, a famous walled pleasure district that housed as many as 4,000 courtesans. In the early evening, elaborately dressed courtesans accompanied by attendants promenaded on the central thoroughfare, as in this scene. The open buildings with shop curtains hanging from their eaves are teahouses, establishments where men could arrange appointments with courtesans of the more prestigious brothels.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineCourtesans Promenading on the Nakanochō (仲之町の花魁道中), c. 1790. Utagawa Toyokuni (Japanese, 1769–1825). Triptych of color woodblock prints; each: 37.8 x 25.8 cm (14 7/8 x 10 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore, 1930.211
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Courtesans Promenading on the Nakanochō