Shirai Gompachi 1770

Suzuki Harunobu created this pillar print titled "Shirai Gompachi" in Japan using woodblock printing techniques. The print depicts a figure who is thought to be a courtesan dressed in a kimono and holding a fan and a bamboo pole. The Edo period in Japan, when this print was made, was a time of economic growth, strict social order, and isolationist foreign policies under the Tokugawa shogunate. The strict social hierarchy of the time dictated many aspects of life, including the clothes one could wear. Woodblock prints became a popular means of circulating images, including those of courtesans and actors, who were at the forefront of popular culture. Harunobu's prints often depicted idealized beauties and were part of a larger cultural phenomenon known as ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world." To understand such prints, we rely on historical records, fashion trends, and knowledge of the theater. The study of such visual sources sheds light on the social and cultural values of the time.