Kuniyoshi 国芳: Courtesans Boarding a Pleasure Boat in Springtime on the Sumida River

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi 国芳 (1798-1861)Title: Present Flourishing Time of Spring Scene 當盛春景色 (Tôsei haru-geshiki) or “An Up-to-date Spring View” Date: ca. 1829 Fabulous spring scene of courtesans and their attendants preparing to board a yakata-bune, a type of roofed pleasure boat with tatami mats and low tables. The two on the left are aboard, the rest are still on a jetty on the Sumida River. Considering the amount of time, expense, and energy it would take for these women to look as fantastically picture perfect as humanly possible, we can understand why sometimes their expressions in this situation have a subtle underlying apprehension. The last thing they would want would be to take a wrong step and ruin their hard-fought outfits, hair and makeup. The title , tôse 当世 was often used to depict a contemporary scene, such as in Kunisada’s  series “tôse harugeshiki” 当世春景色 (Present Time Spring Scene)in oban single sheets, but that character, tôse 当世 meaning “present time” differs from