Kakuchu shinonome (Dawn in the Yoshiwara)

The new Yoshiwara pleasure district was established following the destruction of the original Yoshiwara in the Great Meireki Fire of 1657. It is early morning in this exclusive pleasure district, where courtesans accompany their departing patrons to the gate. The first light of dawn casts a pale glow over the cherry blossoms. Those who have spent the night enjoying themselves in Yoshiwara make their way home, returning to their everyday lives. This evocative morning scene captures the boundary between the floating world of pleasure and the realities of everyday life.
The horizontal black atena bokashi in the sky, together with the subtle bokashi on the upper branches of the cherry tree and on the ground near the man in the foreground, are characteristic of an early impression of this design.