Courtesans of the Three Capitals: Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo
date: label: Date
content: 1777
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Tsukioka Settei 月岡雪鼎 (1710-1786)
notes: label: Label
content: Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo were the three major cities of Edo-period (1615-1868) Japan. Each city had a distinct culture. Kyoto, the imperial capital, remained the center of traditional court culture and of fine craft production. Nearby Osaka became a thriving commercial center with its own cultural circles of artists, poets, and performers. Edo, a new metropolis and center of the shogun's government, rapidly developed distinct customs and artistic and literary forms. This painting portrays courtesans who represent each of the three cities: from left to right, Osaka, Edo, and Kyoto. The inscription at the top of the painting laments the sad fate of the women who have left their families to work in the pleasure quarters.
label: Provenance
content: To 1898
label: Provenance
content: Edward S. Hull Jr., New York to 1898 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1898 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Edward S. Hull Jr. in 1898 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 197, as well as Voucher No. 38, November 1898, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Edward S. Hull Jr. was Ernest Francisco Fenollosa’s (1853-1908) lawyer. Hull often acted as an agent, facilitating purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa, as well as purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa's
label: Provenance
content: well-known associate, Bunshichi Kobayashi (see correspondence, Hull to Freer, 1898-1900, as well as invoices from E.S. Hull Jr., 1898-1900, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives). See also, Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), pgs. 15 and 34. See further, Thomas Lawton and Linda Merrill, Freer: A Legacy of Art, (Washington, DC and New York: Freer Gallery of Art and H. N. Abrams, 1993), pgs. 133-134.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Paintings and Prints (December 8, 2002 to May 26, 2003)
label: Exhibition History
content: Bicentennial Exhibition: Japanese Art (December 15, 1975 to November 10, 1976)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Edward S. Hull Jr. (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: courtesan
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: ukiyo-e
label: Topic
content: kakemono
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1898.433
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink and color on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 105.7 x 43.5 cm (41 5/8 x 17 1/8 in)