Beauties Parodying the Seven Sages - A Selection of Younger Courtesans (Shichi kenjin yatsushi bijin shinzo zoroe): Kumegawa of the Ogiya c. 1793

This print, by Chōbunsai Eishi, was made using woodblocks and colored inks, a demanding process involving a variety of skilled specialists: artists, carvers, printers, and publishers. Here, a courtesan pauses, pen in mouth, as she prepares to write. The layered kimono is beautifully rendered, using blocks to build up areas of flat color, and to suggest the textile's woven pattern. The print also features blind printing, where a block is pressed into the paper without ink to create a subtle embossed design on the white areas of the paper. It's important to remember that these prints were made for mass consumption, even though we now see them as high art. This print comes from a series called "Beauties Parodying the Seven Sages," and the subject matter would have been very appealing to the merchant class, who had money and leisure but were excluded from many aspects of public life. Eishi has elevated their status by portraying them as cultured and refined, associating the women with the famed sages. By emphasizing the skill, labor, and social context, we can move beyond seeing this print as simply a pretty picture.