Courtisane Tachibana uit het Tsuruya huis 1813

Kitagawa Shikimaro created this woodblock print titled "Courtisane Tachibana uit het Tsuruya huis." This image gives us a glimpse into the floating world of the Edo period, where courtesans like Tachibana were celebrities, fashion icons, and arbiters of taste. Their beauty and accomplishments were celebrated in art and literature, yet their lives were often circumscribed by social expectations and economic realities. Here, Tachibana’s elaborate kimono, adorned with cranes, speaks to her status. Yet there's also a sense of melancholy in her posture, her head resting on her hand. Consider this image in the context of the time – a society that both revered and objectified women. While these prints offered a form of admiration, they also contributed to the commodification of the courtesan's image. We are left to ponder the complexities of Tachibana’s identity, caught between the allure of the floating world and the constraints of her position within it.