A Courtesan and Her Attendant at the Riverside Teahouse Iseya c. 1768 - 1769

Suzuki Harunobu’s woodblock print, A Courtesan and Her Attendant at the Riverside Teahouse Iseya, captures a fleeting moment between two women working in the pleasure districts of Edo-period Japan. During this era, courtesans were celebrities renowned for their beauty, wit, and artistic talents. Yet, this print reminds us that their lives were also circumscribed by rigid social hierarchies. While celebrated, courtesans were also marginalized figures, existing outside conventional society. The delicate lines and soft colors create an idealized image of feminine grace, but one charged with the complexities of gender, class, and commercial exchange. Harunobu's images often portrayed women in ways that both celebrated their beauty and acknowledged their social roles. The courtesan’s elaborate kimono and hairstyle mark her status, but there's a sense of melancholy and the quietness of her life in this private moment. The print invites us to reflect on the lives of women in Edo Japan, and the emotional labor of those whose profession required them to embody both fantasy and reality.