Blog Prompt for Ihara Saikakus Life of a Sensuous Woman ( Visual Analysis)
In his  text Life of a Sensuous Woman (1668).Ihara Saikaku writes in the tradition or genre of ukiyo-zoshi or books of the floating world, a form of vernacular fiction depicting life, foibles, and adventures in the pleasure centers or red light districts of Edo Japan. Before the  ukiyo-zoshi emerged there were first ukiyo-e or wood block prints of life in the floating world. The visuals came first, then the narratives, which suggests that there is a relationship between the two.

For this blog post you have 3 images of ukiyo-e .  Choose ONE and offer three annotations interpreting the image and connecting back to the text.  This link will connect you to the resoruce for these images in the Library of Congress. Note, for this post you should either quote from the text and richly describe the image. The objective is to connect the visual tradition back to the writing and consider how they are similar and/or distinct. The same blog post requirements apply. 

To access larger versions of the images below and to gain further details go to the following link:https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html

THIS SUMIZURI-E, OR MONOCHROME PRINT, IS UNSIGNED BUT THE STYLE RESEMBLES THAT OF THE EARLY MASTER HISHIKAWA MORONOBU (D. 1694) AND HIS SCHOOL. THE YOUNG WOMAN DOING LAUNDRY BY THE RIVER DISPLAYS THE BROAD CHEEKS AND LONG JAW ASSOCIATED WITH MORONOBU, AND THE PRINT AS A WHOLE EXHIBITS THE COMBINATION OF THIN AND THICK WAVY CALLIGRAPHIC LINES TYPICAL OF MORONOBU. THE SUBJECT OF THE PRINT IS KUME THE IMMORTAL, A RENOWNED RECLUSE WHO MASTERED THE POWER TO TRAVEL THROUGH THE AIR AT WILL. THE SIGHT OF A YOUNG WOMAN BARING HER LEGS WHILE WASHING CLOTHES CAUSED KUME TO LOSE HIS CONCENTRATION AND FALL FROM THE SKY.

KNOWN FROM EXAMPLES IN THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, THE HIRAKAWA MUSEUM OF ART IN YOKOHAMA, AND MANY OTHER COLLECTIONS, THIS FAMOUS PRINT IS THE FRONTISPIECE OF A SET OF TWELVE EROTIC PRINTS. THIS PRINT BEARS THE SIGNATURE AND SEAL OF TORII KIYONOBU I (CA. 1664-1729). KIYONOBU WAS THE FOUNDER OF THE TORII SCHOOL OF ARTISTS, A DEFINING FORCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF UKIYO-E DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

THIS PRINT BY TORII KIYOMASU (FL. LATE 1690S-EARLY 1720S) DEPICTS A WOMAN TRAMPLING WHAT ARE MOST LIKELY LOVE LETTERS, SCATTERED AT HER FEET. THE WOMAN IS A COURTESAN, IDENTIFIED BY THE FACT THAT HER OBI SASH IS TIED IN FRONT, AND PROBABLY ALSO BY THE BACKGROUND WILLOWS, WHICH WERE PLANTED ALONG THE BANKS OF THE PLEASURE QUARTERS.
Blog requirements: 300-500 words that addresses topic5 points