Somenosuke of the Matsubaya with [Kamuro] Wakaki and Wakaba

Chobunsai Eishi was one of the leading artists of the 1790s, rivaling Kitagawa Utamaro in elegant depictions of contemporary beauties. This print is part of a series devoted to top-ranking courtesans and the sumptuous garments they wore during the first procession of the new year. The name of this particular beauty—Somenosuke—is given at the top of the print, along with those of her brothel, Matsubaya, and her two child attendants (kamuro), Wakaki and Wakaba. Her multilayered outer garment, patterned with long-tailed birds, is worn over a pink robe bearing her crest of crossed hawk feathers on the shoulder. A lacquered rack holds a black obi decorated with larger crests and a festive outer robe with a hawk swooping across a background of aster flower sprays. On the floor before her is a potted adonis plant (fukujuso), a symbol of good fortune in the new year.