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Suzuki Harunobu: Prints in Full Color

Courtesan with Love Letter and Kamuro Playing Blindfold with a Client
Suzuki Harunobu (1725?–1770)
Courtesan with Love Letter and Kamuro Playing Blindfold with a Client
ca. 1768–69
Color woodcut
28.6 x 21.7 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.19511

A courtesan reaches for a love letter while her client feigns indifference. The poem on the theme of forlorn love was composed at a poetry gathering by Kujō Yoshitsune (1169–1206). The poet is trying to control his feelings of love (iro), which reveal themselves despite his best efforts, even as the colors (iro) on the mountain trees show themselves.

Photo: © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston