Japan: 'The Hour of the Sheep' - Hitsuji no koku - (c. 2pm–4pm). 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 Sheep, around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. It is early and still quiet in Yoshiwara; customers are few and far between. At the extreme left of the composition, we can see a book and divination sticks placed on a square fabric. This detail suggests the presence of a soothsayer about to offer his predictions to the courtesan. During this consultation an apprentice amuses herself by reading the lines on the palm of the young assistant.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Credit:

Pictures From History

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FLOATING WORLD