Background:
Portraits of courtesans in Kamigata (Kyoto-Osaka) printmaking are another of the great rarities in that region's production of ukiyo-e. In the early 1820s the artist Kikyo produced a very small number of portraits featuring high-ranking entertainers and courtesans. As in the present design, some were published by Ôgiya Risuke, using a seal reading "Sen" inside an ôgi (folding fan). The sobriquet comes from his haimyô (poetry name), Senritei Yabutora (act. Bunsei period, 1818-30).
For more about the rarity of this genre of kamigata-e and the differences between Kamigata and Edo printmaking traditions in this regard, see the article Tayû up, Tayû down.
Design:
Kototsuru-tayû's name is composed of the characters for koto (a horizontal floor harp), tsuru (crane, a symbol of longevity), and tayû (lit., "great person," the highest rank of courtesan). She is indeed seated beside a koto, apparently adjusting the plectra on the fingers of her right hand. Her elaborately patterned robe is of a quality affordable by only the most in-demand pleasure women, and possibly a garment given to her by a wealthy client or favored regular patron (called a najimi).
Kototsuru-tayû's attendants are identified as Ôfuhana and Umematsu. Presumably, the ochaya (teahouse) is identified by the mallet in the cartouche at the upper right. The artist's seal is an unusual one — an image of an eboshi (court hat; see detail at right). The publisher's seal belongs to Senri, with the character for sen placed within a circle on an ôgi (folding fan; see detail at left).
References: KNZ, no. 515
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