After Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) - Print - 5 Shades Of Ink In The Northern Quarter - 20th

PRINT AFTER KATAGAWA UTAMARO PART OF A SERIES OF 5 PRINTS TITLED "FIVE SHADES OF INK IN THE NORTHERN DISTRICT" PUBLISHED IN 1794-1795 - THIS ONE IS TITLED "TEPPO" - PRESENTED UNDER A MATT - IN PERFECT CONDITION - MADE AND PRESENTED BY THE PUBLISHER "UCHIDA ART CO" KIOTO CENTER JAPAN - COPY MADE IN THE 20TH CENTURY - Teppō (てっぽう, "gun") refers to another type of prostitute who worked outside the walls of Yoshiwara and charged exceptionally low rates. Utamaro depicts her undignified slumped form in a manner that Harold P. Stern compares to Mount Fuji. [13] Those who worked in the low-ranking kiri-mise brothels were susceptible to fatal syphilis; from this came the derogatory nicknames teppō-mise [h] "gun shop" and teppō-jorō [i] "gun prostitutes". [14] The woman wears a light blue kimono trimmed in red with small white chrysanthemums and a purple collar. Her brownish obi bears a more intricate chrysanthemum pattern, and the title cartouche is the same color as the obi. [13] The woman's robe is open, revealing her breasts[13] and wrinkled abdomen. [14] Her hair is tousled and curled back on top of her head, held in place by a hairpin. She holds three sheets of paper between her lips, which was erotically suggestive in artwork of the time. Stern suggests that she might be in the act of sex. [13] Utamaro mercilessly depicts the sensuality of the depths of prostitutes' lives.