This painting of a courtesan depicted as a proud graceful lady is expressing the importance of her social standing in Japan in the 18th century. The stylised format of bijin-ga by Kaigetsudo Ando in colour on paper detailing the elaborate flower designs on her silk kimono. The emphasis of the garment as a work of art is truly amazing in the conceptual reality of this pleasure painting. Image scanned from Jackie Menzies and Edmund Capons' Japan: Masterpieces from the Idemitsu Collection, 1982, page 60. There is also respectful acknowledgment for the Curatorial staff of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts.
