The Evening Mistress at Ueno (Ueno no bansho), from the series "Eight Fashionable Views of Edo (Furyu Edo hakkei)" c. 1769

Suzuki Harunobu made this color woodblock print, "The Evening Mistress at Ueno", in eighteenth-century Japan. The image is part of a series that presents scenes of leisure and fashion in Edo, now Tokyo. Here, Harunobu depicts a man and two women in a domestic setting, observing the landscape beyond the open window. The intimate scene is carefully constructed with visual and cultural codes. The woman with exposed legs and feet may be a prostitute. The presence of such figures points to the economic and social conditions of the time, where sexual commerce was a visible part of urban life. The series title, "Eight Fashionable Views of Edo," hints at the growing importance of fashion and entertainment. This print also subtly critiques the traditional art institutions by featuring contemporary, everyday scenes rather than historical or mythological subjects. To fully grasp the cultural meanings embedded in this artwork, we can delve into historical texts, literature, and social records of the Edo period. Art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.