Omnaya Riverbank (Omnya-Gashi) From the Series One Hundred Famous views of Edo
date: label: Date
content: 1857
name: label: Artist
content: Ando Hiroshige, Japanese, 1797–1858
notes: label: Catalogue Status
content: Research in Progress
label: Description
content: In keeping with showing scenes of Edo, Hiroshige presents the darker side of city life. Two young women in the boat, known as “night hawks” (yotaka) were considered the lowest form of prostitution and were often pimped out by their fathers or brothers. It was not uncommon for these girls to have disfigured faces and so they coated their faces with so much makeup that they would appear to be wearing masks. Along with the white face veneer, they would carry around mats so they could provide their services anywhere. Hiroshige does not shy away from this grim truth. Instead, he exaggerates their eyebrows with harsh lines, which brings to fruition this provocative image.
place: label: made in
content: Japan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
label: See more items in
content: Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H. Patterson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 1941-31-289
objectType: label: Type
content: landscapes
label: Object Name
content: Print
label: Type
content: Print
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Woodblock print in colored ink on paper