Parading Courtesan with Attendants

Catalog note / 解説

This is an example of an early full-colour Japanese print. Polychrome multiple-block prints became known as nishiki-e, or 'brocade prints', because their lavish colours were likened to the rich palette of silk brocades. Harunobu (ca. 1724-1770) was the first great master of nishiki-e. His harmonious colours and lyrical romanticism made a major contribution to the development of ukiyo-e (pictures of the Floating World). Some scholars have suggested that this print depicts Nokaze, a high-ranking courtesan of the Matsuzaka-ya in the Shinagawa brothel district. However, the clothes and accoutrements shown are those of a courtesan from the Yoshiwara, and the 'mon' is not that believed to have be…