An Oiran Holding a Black Dog 1759 - 1779

This woodblock print of an Oiran, or courtesan, holding a small black dog was made by Suzuki Harunobu in Japan, sometime before 1770. These images emerged during the Edo period, when Japan’s capital moved to Edo, modern-day Tokyo, and a new urban culture developed. Prints such as this one served as a kind of fashion plate or celebrity portrait, depicting the most popular and stylish women of the pleasure districts. You can see the care the artist took in representing her elaborate hairstyle and the many layers of her kimono. Black dogs were fashionable pets among courtesans. They were also associated with a Buddhist deity, perhaps hinting at a spiritual dimension to the sitter. The print medium itself allowed for the mass production and dissemination of these images, contributing to the rise of a consumer culture in Edo. As art historians, we can look to sources like diaries, fashion magazines, and government records to better understand the social and economic context in which these images were made and consumed.