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Suzuki Harunobu

Hatsuito of the Yamashiroya Likened to Bush Clover, from Beauties of the Floating World Compared to Flowers

1769–70
color woodblock print

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

Courtesan Hatsuito of a brothel named Yamashiroya is likened to autumnal bush clover in this series comparing the qualities of courtesans to flowers. Hatsuito ties her servant’s obi sash while a gibbon emerges from a painting in the room’s viewing alcove to offer a love letter on which Hatsuito’s name appears. Gibbons reaching in vain for the moon’s reflection in water is a common metaphor for the deluded mind, and bush clover in moonlight is a popular seasonal motif. Here, the ideas are combined as the gibbon woos this unattainable beauty.

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