Yashima Gakutei (1786?-1868)
The high-ranking oiran (courtesan) Usugumo holding her cat in her arms
Title: Usugumo
Series: Katsushika-ren gakumen fujin awase (Framed women portraits for the Katsushika poet circle)
Signature: Gakutei
Date: c. 1820-22
Original Japanese colour woodblock print. Size: 22 x 14 cm (overall)
Very good impression with rich use of metal pigments. Good colours (a little bit faded). A little soiled. The original Kakuban-Surimono here being trimmed to the image with the title-giving frame, a new margin of strong paper was added all around. A little bit wavy. Rare surimono. For the whole surimono cf. Art Institute of Chicago, 1970.512; Smithsonian, Freer Coll. F1975.61z.
According to a legend, the figurine of the famous Maneki neko (lucky beckoning cat) goes back to an incident in the Yoshiwara district of Edo: Usugumo's beloved cat was killed by the landlord of her establishment, but saved the courtesan from a snake. As a consolation, the landlord gave the beauty an life-like clay figurine of the cat, which then became the ubiquitous lucky cat of today.
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