Fascinating study of geisha, courtesans, kabuki performers as portrayed by masters of Japanese art from 1600 to 1868.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This exotic catalogue of a touring exhibition opening at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts features more than 200 reproductions, mostly in color, of paintings and woodblock prints depicting courtesans and geisha of Japan's licensed prostitution districts during the Edo period (1600-1868). Swinton, the museum's curator of Asian art, in her introductory essay explores the ideal of the "floating world" associated with the women of the pleasure quarters-a metaphor of freedom and of living for the moment, exalted in novels, guidebooks and prints. Anthropologist Liza Dalby looks at the isolated lives of high-class prostitutes who found a route out of poverty. Kazue Edamatsu Campbell, a Japanese-language specialist at Boston University, decodes the artificial style of speech used by courtesans. Mark Oshima, an expert on Kabuki theater, explains how the pleasure quarter-a veritable pressure cooker of desire, greed, love and pride-provided grist for Kabuki plays, and he focuses on male actors (onnagata) who specialized in female roles, projecting a soft, cultured ideal of femininity.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful prints, fascinating essays,
This review is from: The Women of the Pleasure Quarter: Japanese Paintings and Prints of the Floating World (Hardcover)
It is difficult to find an art book that perfectly balances information and art; but Swinton has compiled a book which achieves this balance beautifully. Not only does the reader enjoy large, beautiful color prints of the floating world, but she also is presented with several entertaining and thoughtful essays that begin to demystify the world of the Japanese pleasure quarters. The essays deal with such subjects as the history of Kabuki theater, the life of geisha, and the function of the pleasure quarters in Japanese society. However, the art is not dealt with as mere illustration; the works are analyzed in terms of technique and art history, and the prints are catalogued with extreme care for the art scholar. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in art, Japanese culture, history, or women's studies.
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