Night Scene in the Yoshiwara

Courtesans glow behind the wooden lattice of a Yoshiwara house while passers-by are silhouetted against the light of lanterns, the whole scene built from a masterful contrast of illuminated faces and enveloping darkness. Katsushika Ōi, daughter and studio collaborator of Hokusai, was a formidable painter in her own right, and her handling of light and shadow here is bolder than almost anything in the ukiyo-e of her time. Long overshadowed by her father, she is now recognized as one of the most original artists of the late Edo period. The painting, in ink and color on silk, is held at the Ota Memorial Museum of Art, Tokyo.