It was painted by Takashimaya Ohisa, one of the three beauties of Kansei, and was popular as a promide for the town's reputed beauties.

Ohisa is the daughter of a rice cracker maker and is about 17 years old.

◆Commentary

Her age is around 17, which shows her primitive nature.

The "three oaks in a circle" crest on the fan is the family crest of the Ohisano family.

Uchiwa fans are still used today as a summer tradition in Japan.

↓↓↓The "three oaks in a circle"

The text in the upper left corner of the picture is a kyoka(poem) sung by Karahana Chumon, using Ohisa as a model.

It says, "The love and tea will never fade away, and the good dreams will never be lost.

Around the time this ukiyoe was painted, it became popular to feature not only Yoshiwara prostitutes but also other beautiful women from the city in ukiyoe paintings.

The most famous ukiyoe is Kansei no San Bijin (Three Beauties of Kansei), which depicts Ohisa (daughter of Takashima, a rice cracker maker in Yonezawa-cho, Ryogoku), Toyohina, a geisha who plays the role of a master geisha in the Joruri (Japanese puppet play) Tomimoto-bushi, and Okita, a naniwa-ya (a tea shop owner) in the precincts of Sensoji Temple.

↓↓↓the three beauties of Kansei

(from left) Ohisa, Toyohina, and Okita.

◆About Utamaro

During the golden age of ukiyo-e, he was active as a painter of beautiful women.

However, its life is actually not well known.

Entering the Kansei period, he made his name known as the leading authority on ukiyoe and beauty painting, drawing attractive pictures of reputed town girls and prostitutes.

Utamaro is also a self-confident artist and includes words of praise in his paintings. For example, in a letter written by a flower girl, he wrote, "Utamaro does not like to be imitated and does not copy others' paintings.

In response to this, Utamaro's popularity further increased.