Japan: The celebrated beauty Toto Shin, a yobidashi or highest ranking Yoshiwara courtesan, ukiyo-e by Utagawa Kunisada, Edo (Tokyo), c. 1820-1825

A yobidashi is a Yoshiwara top-ranked oiran or prostitute. Tortoise shell is very lightweight, but she is wearing so many combs and hairpins in her hair that it makes them look heavy. Her kimono also has a foreign flavor with its stripes and calico strips.

Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – January 12, 1865), also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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Pictures From History

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