Matsumoto Yonesaburo as Kewaizaka no Shosho in the Play "Katakiuchi Noriyaibanashi"

Tōshūsai Sharaku

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This portrait features another actor impersonating a female character, in this case an oiran, or high-ranking courtesan, in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters of Edo. But there is another layer to this act: the character portrayed, Kewaizaka no Shosho, is here pretending to be another character in the play, Shinobu. Kewaizaka affects the mannerisms of this haughty temptress with the lewd gesture of extruding her fingers from a fold of her kimono. The long thin pipe in her hand punctuates this gesture.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art