Courtesan Tasting a Morning-glory Bud
Isoda Koryūsai
Description
Isoda Koryûsai was a younger contemporary of Harunobu, and his earliest prints are very much in the elder master’s style. After Harunobu’s death in 1770, Koryûsai gradually moved toward his own idiom and a more substantial female type. In this pillar print he fills the tall and narrow format with the figure of a young woman and a planter of morning glories. She brings a morning-glory bud to her mouth, to taste its sweet nectar—something children in Japan still do today. The action is presented here with unmistakably erotic overtones: the woman is identified as a courtesan by the fact that her obi is tied in the front, and her stance reveals much more leg than a proper young lady would allow.
M. Graybill
"Courtesans, Cross-Dressers, and the Girl Next Door Images of the Feminine in Japanese Popular Prints"
3/9 - 9/1/02
Subject Matter:
The Label Copy details most of the subject matter.
Physical Description:
This print depicts a woman tasting a morning-glory bud, as the title suggests. She faces to the left toward the morning glory plant (called asagao in Japanese). She cranes her head down as she bites off a piece of the bud. Her kimono has a morning glory pattern and she stands barefoot on the tatami or bamboo woven floor. On the planter on the left edge is a small vertical inscription.
Usage Rights:
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