Takahashi Hiroaki (Shōtei) (Japan, 1871-1945) Print, dai oban yoko-e, Yoshiwara Kōshisakinozu, Night Scene at Yoshiwara. Cartouche by the artist Hiroaki Takahashi. Publisher Fusui Gabō (Fusui workshop). 1929. Marked on the back: print 61/300 (Minor restoration). Dim. 28,4 x 43,5 cm. This print by Shōtei is designed after a painting by Katsushika Ōi (1800-1866), the daughter of Katsushika Hokusai. The painting evokes a very different atmosphere compared to other representations of the Yoshiwara. As a woman, Ōi perhaps had a different vision of the Yoshiwara: she shows the courtesans in a room behind bars, rendering a feeling of confinement. Ōi does not focus on the beauty and skills of the women. Potential customers are represented by dark silhouettes in front of the bars, likening them to voyeurs. Reference: A similar print held at the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, accession no. S2003.8.2385