Young Man Smoking with a Courtesan

1799

This is the prefatory illustration to an album containing twelve shunga (erotic) prints, entitled Negai no itoguchi (The Prelude to Desire). Utamaro's speciality was the depiction of women, especially the courtesans of the Yoshiwara, the regulated pleasure district of the capital Edo (present-day Tokyo). Negai no itoguchi is considered one of Utamaro’s greatest shunga series.