Triptych: Courtesans with Kamuro 

Editor: This is Utagawa Kunisada's "Triptych: Courtesans with Kamuro," a Japanese woodblock print. The detail in the garments is amazing! What can you tell me about the role of these figures in society? Curator: Kunisada created this work for a public audience that was fascinated by the glamorous, yet often marginalized, world of courtesans. Prints like this served as both entertainment and a kind of social commentary, influencing perceptions of status and beauty. Did prints such as these reinforce social order, or were they a challenge to it? Editor: That's a fascinating question. I suppose they were both, reflecting and shaping public opinion. Thank you! Curator: Indeed, and thinking about that tension is key to understanding their historical significance.