Seven Beauties of the Gay Quarters: Shinohara of Tsuruya

In a period when each ukiyo-e artist had his own set of standard images for women's faces, Utamaro set a new standard by creating beauty pictures with each model's slightly different facial features apparent in his prints. Utamaro exploited this skill as a selling point for his bust portrait figural works. Seven Beauties of the Gay Quarters linked oiran, or high-ranking courtesans, from Edo's Shin-Yoshiwara pleasure quarters with the Seven Komachi series images, the seven stories related to the legendary Heian period poet and beauty, Ono no Komachi. These prints show the faces of the seven courtesans. The oiran Shinohara shown in this print also featured in other works by Utamaro. Her sleek visage can also be seen in these works. The signature's boastful self-praise speaks of Utamaro's pride in his own unparalleled popularity at the time.