Courtesan as Rin Reiso
Artist
Okumura Masanobu 奥村 政信
(Japanese, 1686–1764)
Dateabout 1710
MediumWoodblock print (sumizuri-e); ink on paper
DimensionsHorizontal ōban; 28.6 x 43.3 cm (11 ¼ x 17 1/16 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection
Object number1901.59.2216
Label TextThe Chinese sage Lin Ling-su is called Rin Reiso by the Japanese. Stories about Rin Reiso are based in part on an actual person by that name who was an advisor to the Sung Emperoro Hui Tsung [11th-12th centuries]. The story represented here has to do with the contest in which he took part with eleven other celebrated magicians. Rin Reiso blew out a mouthful of water which turned into five-colored clouds, each containing a fabled creature. Here a courtesan who lies on her bed with a girl holding a kettle of sake is likened to the sage. She is shown blowing forth a stream of sake vapor from her mouth; in it is an approaching chokibune with a samurai lover, his face hidden under a hat. The boat is hastily punted towards the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter by two men.On View
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