The Courtesan Takao Leaving Against a Window

Okumura Masanobu's The Courtesan Takao Leaving Against a Window belongs to the visual culture of the Edo period, when images of celebrated courtesans became an important part of Japan's expanding print culture. The work presents a female figure identified as Takao, a name associated with some of the most renowned women of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter. Its title draws attention to a moment of departure and to the relationship between the courtesan and the architectural space around her. The work is a monochrome woodblock print, made with ink on paper in Japan. The figure identified is the title as Takao brings the print into the cultural history of Yoshiwara Edo's period licensed pleasure quarter. The pleasure quarter was not simply a place of commercial sexual services. It developed a distinctive culture of clothing, conversation, music, literature, performance and social etiquette. High ranking courtesans were expected to possess accomplishments beyond physical beauty. The courtesan is presented as a named figure whose image could be recognised, circulated and appreciated by an audience beyond the pleasure quarter. Her representation reflects the importance of women in the visual imagination of Edo, while also revealing how their identities could become part of a commercial image culture. In monochrome printing, the expressive possibilities of the image depended heavily on the quality of the black line. Artists could use variations in line weight, density and spacing to distinguish figures, clothing and architectural elements.