Title : A Beauty Reading a Letter Outside Mosquito Netting

Artist : Suzuki Harunobu

Date : c. 1769

Details : More information...

Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
Browse all 5471 prints...

Description : A young woman who has changed into her light, summer evening kimono glances over a letter she has received. The composition of this pillar print skillfully utilizes the extremely long vertical format. (from Summer Evenings: Harunobu exhibition 5/30/06-) ******************************** During the Edo period and beyond, summer evenings were never without mosquito netting. A young woman who has changed into her sleeping attire with red underwear glances over a letter she has received. The composition of this pillar print skillfully utilizes the extremely long vertical format. (from "VOGUE in Japan: Edo Fashion through Japanese prints" exhibition 07/30/08-) ********************************* The depiction of a beauty with a mosquito net is a favorite subject in ukiyo-e indicating the summer season. In this print, a courtesan wearing an under-kimono is absorbed in reading a letter, perhaps from a lover. This type of picture would have prompted viewers to imagine a romantic tale connected to the lovers, of which there were many in popular Edo period literature. It also prompted men to fantasize about licensed pleasure quarters such as the Yoshiwara, where they imagined they could find beautiful women such as this (although few could afford their actual company!). “Midsummer Night’s Pleasure” 08/05/2010-10/10/2010) **********************************

Download Image