Young couple - youth with courtesan
ca 1793 – 1799
9 in x 13.25 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese woodblock print
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - an Utamaro print with a courtesan with a similar hairstyle
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - a Chōki print with a woman wearing a similar hairstyle
The hairstyle worn by the courtesan was reserved for the highest ranking in their profession. It is referred to as datehyōgo (伊達兵庫). It appears in Utamaro prints mainly in the last decade of the 18th century. Above is a link to an Utamaro print in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston showing an oiran with a similar, but related, hairstyle.
We have also added a link to a Chōki print from ca. 1795, also in Boston, showing a courtesan wearing a variation on this style. Cecilia Segawa Seigle in her book on the Yoshiwara noted that the most precious thing in a prostitutes possession was her hair, followed by her robes.
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Note that the young man's under-robe is decorated with a Danjūrō crest or mon.