Tsukioka and Hinakoto of the Hyogoya

Eizan was the greatest and most prolific of the followers of Utamaro, and he attempted to carry on the style of Utamaro’s bijin after his master’s death.

Depicted here are Tsukioka and Hinakoto, both courtesans in the Hyôgoya Teahouse. In the early Edo period, sancha, or teahouse waitresses, would often engage in unauthorized prostitution. These sancha were mid-range in price and were not allowed to refuse a customer, and their efforts turned a moderate profit. Unhappy with the competition, the brothel owners pressured the shogunate to shut down the teahouses in 1666. The sancha were then incorporated into the Yoshiwara under the condition that they would not be paid for three years in punishment for stealing business from the courtesans. These waitresses were then known as chūsan, or second-rank courtesans who would sit on display in a latticed parlor and wait for customers to approach. Eventually their popularity rose so high that by the next century they were equal in status to the oiran, a group of high-ranking courtesans of the Yoshiwara.