Courtesan and her Attendants under a Willow Tree

Courtesan and her Attendants under a Willow Tree

Unchō 雲潮

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A high-ranking courtesan (oiran), accompanied by her teenage apprentice (shinzō) and two child attendants (kamuro), promenade beneath a weeping willow in the spring. While the identity of the artist who signs himself “Unchō” has yet to be determined, we may assume that he received his art name from the ukiyo-e artist Katsukawa Shunchō. The two inscribers of the poetry above, Kyōden and Bakin, are among the greatest popular writers of the day. They have both added Chinese and Japanese poetic phrases referring to the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters. Kyōden uses metaphors of willow trees and flowers; Bakin quotes a Chinese poem and then likens a courtesan to a thousand-armed Kannon bodhisattava in the service of men.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Courtesan and her Attendants under a Willow TreeCourtesan and her Attendants under a Willow TreeCourtesan and her Attendants under a Willow TreeCourtesan and her Attendants under a Willow TreeCourtesan and her Attendants under a Willow Tree

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.