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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.<br/><br/> This woodblock print is taken from Kitagawa Utamaro's 1794-1795 <i>ukiyo-e</i> 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.<br/><br/> The Hour of the Monkey is around 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Before the start of the night shift, it is time for the parade of courtesans of the highest rank in Nakanocho, the central artery of Yoshiwara. The courtesan here, belonging to this elite, appears in all her sumptuous attire. She is escorted by an apprentice courtesan.
The Ainu or in historical Japanese texts Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands).<br/><br/> Historically, they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Most of those who identify themselves as Ainu still live in this same region, though the exact number of living Ainu is unknown. This is due to confusion over mixed heritages and to ethnic issues in Japan resulting in those with Ainu backgrounds hiding their identities.<br/><br/> In Japan, because of intermarriage over many years with Japanese, the concept of a pure Ainu ethnic group is no longer feasible. Official estimates of the population are of around 25,000, while the unofficial number is upward of 200,000 people.
The Ainu or in historical Japanese texts Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands).<br/><br/> Historically, they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Most of those who identify themselves as Ainu still live in this same region, though the exact number of living Ainu is unknown. This is due to confusion over mixed heritages and to ethnic issues in Japan resulting in those with Ainu backgrounds hiding their identities.<br/><br/> In Japan, because of intermarriage over many years with Japanese, the concept of a pure Ainu ethnic group is no longer feasible. Official estimates of the population are of around 25,000, while the unofficial number is upward of 200,000 people.
The Ainu or in historical Japanese texts Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands).<br/><br/> Historically, they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Most of those who identify themselves as Ainu still live in this same region, though the exact number of living Ainu is unknown. This is due to confusion over mixed heritages and to ethnic issues in Japan resulting in those with Ainu backgrounds hiding their identities.<br/><br/> In Japan, because of intermarriage over many years with Japanese, the concept of a pure Ainu ethnic group is no longer feasible. Official estimates of the population are of around 25,000, while the unofficial number is upward of 200,000 people.
The Ainu or in historical Japanese texts Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands).<br/><br/> Historically, they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Most of those who identify themselves as Ainu still live in this same region, though the exact number of living Ainu is unknown. This is due to confusion over mixed heritages and to ethnic issues in Japan resulting in those with Ainu backgrounds hiding their identities.<br/><br/> In Japan, because of intermarriage over many years with Japanese, the concept of a pure Ainu ethnic group is no longer feasible. Official estimates of the population are of around 25,000, while the unofficial number is upward of 200,000 people.