A prostitute sitting beside a writing table

Object Details

• Artist

  Kitao Masayoshi 北尾政美 (1764-1824)

• School/Tradition

  Ukiyo-e

• Description

  A woman with flowing robes sitting beside a writing table. Signature and seal; inscription and three seals.

• Marks

  The three seals are as follows:

  Seal: [CHN] Santo

  Round seal: [CHN] Ha Sanjin

  Round seal: [CHN] Ha Sanjin

• Inscriptions

  The inscription is as follows:

  ([CHN] Itsuzuke o kyaku tsukamatsurazu kore jin nari ([CHN]) ikiji wo tatsuru kore ([CHN]) gi nari ([CHN]) monbi no ([CHN]) dochu

  ([CHN]) kore rei nari neya no ([CHN]) tekuda wa kore ([CHN]) chi nari

  makoto ni hamaru wa ([CHN]) kore shin nari ([CHN]) go-jo mo ([CHN]) go-jo ni

  ([CHN]) aioi no ([CHN]) matsu no ([CHN]) iro zo tanoshimu-tanoshimu

  ([CHN]) Santo Kyoden daisuru ([CHN]) Bun-kwa hi-no-e-tora natsu roku gwatsu

  This may be rendered in English as follows:

  “Not to permit a guest to stay in the brothel day after day: this is Benevolence. To show an unyielding disposition: this is Rightiousness. To put on full dress with five crests and parade about the quarter on the five appointed days: this is Propriety. To employ artifice in the bedroom: this is Widsom. To fall truly in love: this is Good Faith.

  “Gojo (the ‘Five Cardinal Virtues,’ --- just enumerated) and gojo (the ‘five streets,’ --- of the Yoshiwara), may be likened to the two ‘Composition Pine Trees’; and the rank of Tayu (‘Great Civil Officer’), proper to a pine, means also a first class prostitute who enjoys amorous experiences with all guests of the house, treating each according to his kind.

  “Written by Santo Kyoden.

  “Written by Santo Kyoden.

• Provenance

  To 1903

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1903 [1]

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1903 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 303, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Writing, Ukiyo-e, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings