Standing Courtesan with Winged Dragon Obi

Artist Katsukawa Shunsen 勝川春扇 (Shunkō II 二代春好) (Japanese, 1762–about 1830)

Dateearly 1800s

Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on paper

DimensionsVertical ōban, upright diptych (kakemono-e): 72.2 x 23.8 cm (28 7/16 x 9 3/8 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Japanese Print

Object number1901.264

DescriptionThis courtesan wears a kimono patterned in nadeshiko flowers (“fringed pink” in English), and a remarkably large obi belt covered with dragons flying among storm clouds. Although the delicate blooms and fearsome beasts seem to be opposites, they were both traditional symbols of protecting the innocent from misfortune.
Label TextStanding figure of a courtesan who is dressed in a kimono that has a pattern of nadeshiko pinks upon a pale pink field, and a remarkably large obi that has a highly conventionalized pattern of dragons amid storm clouds. Although the delicate blooms and fearsome beasts seem to be opposites, they were both traditional symbols of protecting the innocent from misfortune.

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