Japan: 'The Hour of the Hare' - U no koku - (c. 6am-8am). Utamaro Kitagawa (1753-1806), c. 1794-1795

During the Edo period (1603 - 1868), the Japanese clock was divided into twelve units of time, or ‘hours’, with each one named after one of the zodiacal symbols of the lunar calendar, and with the day being divided up into six daytime hours and six night-time hours.

This woodblock print is taken from Kitagawa Utamaro's 1794-1795 ukiyo-e series 'Twelve Hours of the Green Rooms', sometimes styled 'Twelve Hours of the Yoshiwara', featuring everyday events in the lives of courtesans in Edo's Yoshiwara pleasure district.

It is the hour of the Hare, around six o’clock in the morning. A courtesan holds a customer’s coat as he prepares to go home. This coat is adorned with a valuable lining embellished with a portrait of Bodhidharma (Japanese: Daruma), the patriarch of the Zen sect, painted by an artist of the Kano school, Suzuki Rinsho (1732 – 1803).

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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Pictures From History

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