A Parade of Courtesans

c. 1690

Woodblock print; ink on paper, 31 × 68 cm. The Art Institute of Chicago

A file of courtesans, each shaded by an attendant's parasol, seems to move through the Yoshiwara.

Unsigned and without a publisher's mark, it is attributed by the museum.
Moronobu is the first ukiyo-e designer known by name.
The figure at left is identified as a Soga brother, so the scene may draw on a kabuki play.

Edo: The old name of Tokyo, seat of the shoguns; it also names the Edo period, 1615–1868.
Ukiyo-e: “Pictures of the floating world”: prints and paintings of the city's pleasures, theater and fashions.
Yoshiwara: Edo's licensed pleasure quarter, a walled district of courtesans' houses, teahouses and entertainment.
Kabuki: Japan's popular stage drama, combining acting, music and dance.
Soga brothers: Twelfth-century heroes of a revenge story staged in many kabuki plays.