Okegawa: The Courtesan Kojoro Hiding Tamaya Shimbei from Pursuers, no. 7 from the series The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō

The seventh print in this series depicts a popular scene in a book titled The Courtesan’s Melodious Shamisen. In this story, the wealthy merchant Shimbei falls in love with the courtesan, Kojoro, bringing financial ruin and shame upon him and his family. Because he can no longer pay for her services, he is imprisoned in a barrel next to the brothel gate as a warning to other customers. Here, Kojoro and her attendant bring provisions for Shimbei while two watchmen patrol the gates. Bowls of food and drink, like those being delivered, make up the title border and a cloth lines the inset landscape, much like the one in which Shimbei’s provisions are wrapped