woodblock print

This print represents Masanobu’s love for clever literary allusions or references to legends cast in contemporary settings, a tradition that came to be known as parody pictures, or mitate-e 見立絵. This composition makes a reference to chapter four of the classic Japanese novel, The Tale of Genji, titled Yūgao, or Evening Faces. The novel’s main character, the prince Genji, spots some beautiful flowers at the hedge fence of a house he is passing. When he orders his attendant to gather some of the flowers, a young girl appears from the house. She gives the attendant a folding fan on which to place the blossoms before offering them to Genji, turning it into a tasteful, impromptu gift from the mysterious lady of the house, with whom Genji soon has an affair. Masanobu transformed the literary episode into a contemporary scene, set in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter of Edo. Here a young girl representing the courtesan in the background presents flowers on a fan to a customer.