Yujo and a girl
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1898.7
Tags
About this artwork
Signature reads: "Yamatoe, Hishikawa Morofusa no zu".
Art Historical Context
This captivating painting by Hishikawa Morofusa depicts a yujo, or courtesan, alongside a young girl, capturing a tender moment from Japan’s Edo period (1615–1868). Active between 1685 and 1703, Morofusa worked in the emerging ukiyo-e tradition, which celebrated the fleeting pleasures of urban life, theater, and the pleasure quarters. The work’s signature, “Yamatoe, Hishikawa Morofusa no zu,” identifies it as a yamato-e style composition, blending classical Japanese aesthetics with the lively spirit of early ukiyo-e. As a hanging scroll, or kakemono, the piece would have been displayed season...