The Courtesan Kotozuru of the Tsuruya Brothel as an Asazuma Boat Prostitute (Tsuruya Kotozuru-dayū Asazuma-bune), from the series Costume Parade of the Shinmachi Quarter in Osaka (Ōsaka Shinmachi nerimono)

Yanagawa Shigenobu 柳川重信

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The courtesan Kotozuru from the Tsuruya Brothel in Osaka is costumed in a male courtier’s cap and capacious robes associated with the cross-dressed female entertainers who took clients out in boats at Asazuma on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. This print is from a series inspired by the summertime costume parades that were held annually in the Shinmachi brothel district of Osaka, created by the Edo-based artist Shigenobu. Both Shinmachi, Osaka’s government-sanctioned brothel district, and Shimanouchi, a large unlicensed district to the southwest, hosted costume parades featuring teahouse waitresses, geiko (geisha), and courtesans performing skits or pantomimes of well-known figures (both female and male) from Japanese legend, literature, popular theater, and contemporary society.

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