Not currently on view
In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of August 2026
FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG
Ukiyo-e artists’ exploration of beautiful people extended to figures from other lands. Here, an elegant Chinese palace lady holding a fan stands before a banana plant. The poem at the top is written in a Japanese appropriation of Chinese called kanbun. Based on its imagery of a palanquin (an enclosed couch with poles used for carrying passengers), silk fan, and autumn winds, it may allude to the story of Lady Ban (about 48 BC–about AD 2). A Chinese beauty famous for her scholarly achievements, Ban was once consort to an emperor but later lost his favor. In a poem attributed to her, she compared herself to a used silk fan put away in autumn.
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Ikeda Eisen (Japanese, 1790–1848) — Courtesan
Kamigaki Hōryū (Japanese, dates unknown) — Courtesan Seated
Kubo Shunman
Katsukawa Shunshō — Dancer with a Maple Branch
Utagawa Toyoharu|Shokusanjin (Ōta Nanpo) — 歌川豊春筆 蜀山人（大田 南畝）賛
Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831–1889) — Hell Courtesan
Hosoda Eishi — A Courtesan Reading a Letter
Takizawa Shigenobu
Chōbunsai Eishi (Japanese, 1756–1829) — Beauty in a Boat on 
Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 — 勝川春章筆 立姿美人図|Woman in a Black Kimono
寛文美人図|Beauty of the Kanbun Era
Hakuin Ekaku (Japanese, 1685–1768) — Figure of a Woman
