Page 444 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

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Miyagawa Chóshun (1682-c. 1752)
Courtesan Enjoying Incense
c. 17205
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
87.1x36.6 (3474x1472)
Tokyo National Museum

• A high-ranking courtesan swathed
in flowery robes enjoys the fragrance
of incense wafting upward through
her robes from a small censer placed
at her feet, and perhaps from another 443
hidden in her collar. The wisp of aro-
matic smoke rising from her collar is
subtly suggested by a slender funnel
of light color against the background.
Incense implements are seen in the
lower right corner. The courtesan's
long, luxuriant hair remains uncoiffed,
suggesting that she has just returned
from the bath. The light brown obi
is loosely knotted in front, the usual
practice for courtesans. She is seated
on a board used for sugoroku (a
backgammon-like game), an allusion
to earlier paintings in the tradition
such as the Hifeone Screen (cat. 233).
The folding screen in the background,
rendered in a vaguely Kano academic
flower-and-bird style, shows a spring
scene of a pair of sparrows cavorting,
one perched on a branch of red
plum blossom. The image of the plum
blossoms, noted for their sweet fra-
grance, serves as a visual complement
to the wafted incense. JTC

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