Early Evening in Yoshiwara Inn

Undefined Japanese Artist, Early Evening in Yoshiwara Inn, Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 19th century, 37.1 × 25.7 cm

This wood print depicts the scene in the Yoshiwara. Among these courtesans, the costume of the oiran is the most gorgeous and flashy. The main job of an oiran is to attract customers, so she dresses luxuriously. The higher the rank of the courtesans, the more expensive and heavier the kimono. The multiple layers and expensive color use of her kimono represent her high-ranked social status. The girl sitting next to the oiran is her attendant or maid. Her clothes are usually matching the oiran’s kimono but with fewer layers and the patterns are simpler. The women in purple and blue are lower-ranked courtesans because their kimonos are less complex. There were rigorous rules on what should be worn and what can not be worn. Yoshiwara, as a society, courtesans’ clothing insinuates the dressing phenomenon of Japanese society at that time.