Courtesan of Eguchi

Katsukawa Shunshō, Courtesan of Eguchi, painting:1770−80; inscription: 1820–30, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, 51.9 x 37.8 cm.

This painting portrays a famous courtesan from Eguchi called Tae from the 12th century. The story that this work tells is about a monk who seeks shelter at a brothel on his way back to his temple and ends up having a deep conversation about Buddhism with the courtesan Tae. By the Edo period, it was quite popular for artists to paint Tae as an incarnation of the bodhisattva Fugen. Like in this painting by Katsukawa Shunshō, Tae is often portrayed with an elephant, which is the sacred animal and vehicle of the bodhisattva Fugen. The decision to portray a courtesan as a divine figure like a bodhisattva is interesting and seems almost ironic due to the unchaste nature of a courtesan’s profession and the pleasure districts. However, this depiction of Tae as a bodhisattva also demonstrates how in Buddhism, physical appearances are not important and questions our conceptions of what is considered sacred or immoral. This work shows how wisdom and this sense of spirituality is deemed as a beautiful quality that can be seen in the representation of courtesans.