Courtesan Standing on a Veranda (Parody of Mugen no Kane)

A lonely courtesan stands on the veranda’s edge, gazing sadly at a stone water basin in a courtyard. Her arms are tucked into her kimono against the night’s chill. Shadows of performers appear on the paper shoji screen behind her; we can almost hear the music and laughter.

Like the similar pillar print by Harunobu seen above, this is a parody print referencing the legendary Mugen no Kane, the magical temple bell that grants great wealth but casts the bell-ringer into hell in their next life. In a well-known kabuki theater version of the tale, a woman named Umegae had become a courtesan in order to redeem her samurai husband’s armor that was pawned. Recalling the story, she struck a water basin with a ladle as though it were the legendary bell. Umegae’s mother-in-law, in disguise and watching her from the second floor, was so moved that she sent down gold coins to help her. In the print, yellow flowers (Kerria japonica) growing beside the wash basin suggest the gold coins that had been sent down.