Utagawa Kunisada
Japanese, 1786-1864
Male Geisha Delivering Message, ca. 1850
With Nanushi seal of censor
Nishiki-e (color woodblock print)
Oban format
Diptych (probably a triptych with missing sheet)
Signed: Ichiyusai Toyokuni and Kochoro Toyokuni
Museum Collection
The male geisha Koga presents a message (probably a love poem
wrapped around cherry blossoms) to Okiku, wife of Oisoya. Male
geishas were entertainers and attendants to high-ranking
courtesans. They often delivered messages. Is the world of the
pleasure district "invading" the world of respectability? What
or whom is the woman looking at with such defensive anxiety? The
world of the work, rank, and conventional respectability was
separate from the "floating world" of Kabuki theater and the
pleasure district. Japanese culture was highly
compartmentalized. Wives and courtesans belonged to separate
universes.
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