Young Man Entertained by Several Geisha and a Jester behind a Transparent Screen, from the series Twelve Birds

This triptych (three-sheet) print glimpses into one of the high-end entertainments offered by the Floating World. A group of geisha entertain a wealthy customer, in black at the right, with music and witty repartee. Originally misunderstood in the West as prostitutes, geisha are highly trained singers, dancers, and musicians.

In the print, the geisha across from the customer seems to have just concluded her performance and is drinking a cup of sake, probably offered by the man as a compliment to her playing. In the extreme lower left corner of the triptych is her lacquered shamisen box bearing the crest of Tomimoto Bushi, one of the era’s popular schools of shamisen music performance.

Autumn motifs of pampas grass on the lantern shade, in addition to chrysanthemums and Chinese bell flowers (kikyō) on the women’s kimono, allude to the fall season. The woman holding a round uchiwa fan, however, suggests the still-lingering heat of late summer. The man crouching behind a screen at the left may be a comic, waiting for his turn to perform.