Farewell scene between a courtesan and a regular customer - A night in Yoshiwara where emotions and pride intersect (Edo period)

Farewell scene between a courtesan and a regular customer - A night in Yoshiwara where emotions and pride intersect (Edo period)

In Yoshiwara during the Edo period, a relationship called "familiarity" was established between oiran (courtesans) and regular customers. The brothel was a place of business, but it was also a stage where people's hearts intersected. When a regular customer said goodbye, "Tonight is the last time," the oiran replied, "Come again," without breaking her smile, and hid her tears behind her fan. The expression on her face was a mixture of professional pride and human emotion. At the moment of parting, the oiran accepts her sadness as a part of her art, transcending her emotions and maintaining her "chic. In the works of ukiyoe artist Kitagawa Utamaro and others, the backs of oiran (courtesans) seeing off their customers are depicted, showing that Yoshiwara was not merely a pleasure district but a mirror reflecting human emotions. These women did not hold grudges against those who left, did not show tears, and quietly let their hearts sink into the darkness of the night. The aesth
etics of Edo and the sorrows of life overlapped in their behavior, which beautifully encompassed love and parting, and Yoshiwara became the stage for stories of women living on the "border between laughter and tears.