Courtesan Dreaming of the New Year Procession 1814

Kubo Shunman created this woodblock print titled "Courtesan Dreaming of the New Year Procession" in Japan, sometime between the late 1700's and early 1800's. Shunman, a leading artist of the period, gives us a glimpse into the licensed pleasure quarters of Edo-period Japan. We see a high-ranking courtesan dozing off, her head resting on her hand. Beside her, another woman, perhaps a younger apprentice, reads a book. Above, in a dreamlike vision, a procession unfolds – a conventional subject for art in this period. Was Shunman subverting or reinforcing social norms? The floating procession represents the actual New Year parade, in which courtesans of the Yoshiwara district were carried through the streets in elaborate attire. This print is a meditation on the lives of these women and the commodification of beauty and desire. To fully grasp the meaning, one needs to delve into the social history of Japan's Edo period, including institutional histories of art and government regulations of prostitution. This print becomes a window into a complex world, reflecting both the allure and the constraints of life in the pleasure quarters.