Shirabyōshi Dancer and Female Servant; Courtesan and Girl Attendant 1734 - 1766

Tsukioka Settei created this painted two-fold screen depicting women in eighteenth-century Japan. The women portrayed are not just figures in a composition, but representations of social roles and cultural ideals of the Edo period. On the right, a courtesan stands with an attendant kneeling before her, in a traditional power dynamic of the pleasure quarters. Here the power is nuanced by the intimacy of the arrangement. On the left a Shirabyōshi dancer, also attended by a young servant, embodies a different kind of cultural role, one which draws on older traditions of female performers who held a complex place in society. These dancers often challenged gender norms through performance. Settei captures more than just an image; he presents a glimpse into the lives of women navigating their identities within a structured society. It is a reminder of the varied roles women have played throughout history.