Publication and legacy Three Beauties of the Present Day

the tall, graceful beauties of kiyonaga s prints influenced utamaro.

evening on banks of sumida river (right half of diptych), late 18th century

the print designed utamaro , published tsutaya jūzaburō in fourth or fifth year of kansei era of traditional japanese era divisions (c. 1792–93). tsutaya s publisher s seal printed on left above hisa s head, , round censor s seal appears above it. utamaro s signature printed in bottom left.

fumito kondō considered print revolutionary; such expressive, individualized faces not seen in stereotyped figures in works of utamaro s predecessors such harunobu , kiyonaga, , first time in ukiyo-e history beauties drawn general urban population rather pleasure quarters.

records indicate kita rated highly in teahouse rankings, , curious fans flooded father s teahouse; said caused become arrogant , cease serve tea unless called for. hisa ranked lower, though still appears have been quite popular—a wealthy merchant offered 1500 ryō her, parents refused , continued work @ teahouse. utamaro took advantage of rivalry in art, going far portray 2 tearoom beauties in tug-of-war , other competitions, deities associated neighbourhoods supporting them: buddhist guardian deity acala associated yagenbori, , supported hisa; guanyin, goddess of mercy, associated temple sensō-ji in asakusa, , supported kita.

the triangular positioning of 3 figures became of vogue in prints of mid-1790s. 3 beauties of kansei era refer 3 appear in print; on occasion, utamaro replaced toyohina kikumoto o-han. utamaro placed 3 beauties in same composition 3 or 4 years later in print called 3 beauties, in hisa holds teacup saucer in left hand rather handkerchief, , kita holds fan in both hands. eiji yoshida, figures in print lack personalities charm of earlier. yoshida thought less of further undifferentiated personalities of later print same triangular composition, 3 beauties holding bags of snacks, published yamaguchiya. testimony popularity, 3 models appeared in works of other artists, , utamaro continued use them in other prints, individually or in pairs.

there no records of sales figures of ukiyo-e era in print made. determining popularity of print requires indirect means, 1 of compare differences in surviving copies. example, more copies printed, more woodblocks wore down, resulting in loss of line clarity , details. example publishers made changes blocks in later print runs. researchers use clues such these determine whether prints reprinted—a sign of popularity. original printing of 3 beauties of present day had title in bookmark-shape in top right corner names of 3 beauties left. 2 copies of state believed have survived; in collections of museum of fine arts in boston, , koishikawa ukiyo-e art museum in tokyo. later printings lack title, names of beauties, or both, , position of publisher s , censor s seals varies slightly. reasons changes subject speculation, such beauties may have moved away, or fame may have fallen. based on clues such these changes, researchers believe print popular hit utamaro , tsutaya.

group portraits of 3 kansei beauties utamaro

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