c. 1770
(Japanese, 1724–1770)
Color woodblock print
Sheet: 68 x 12.8 cm (26 3/4 x 5 1/16 in.)
Gift of J. H. Wade 1920.516
This print depicts a courtesan dreaming about the time she was taken from her family to become a courtesan. The man leading the girl by the hand is probably escorting her to the Yoshiwara, the entertainment district in Edo. This format is called a pillar print, or hashira-e (literally, "pillar picture"). It is made by pasting two sheets together vertically to form a long, narrow picture, often hung as a decoration on the narrow support posts of the interior of Japanese houses.
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