The following woodblock prints (1870-1902) depict the story of Kiyū, a pleasure woman housed in a brothel called Gankirō within the Miyozaki Pleasure Quarter in Yokohama during the port-opening period of the mid-19th century. According to legend, Kiyū is forced to take an American client despite her role as a prostitute for Japanese clients only. Desperate, she commits suicide to protect her racial purity, leaving a nationalistic death poem behind. This story was published in various books and woodblock prints. Visit each image to study it closely. Translations of the written text in the image are provided in contemporary Japanese and English.
19世紀半ばの横浜開港時代、港崎（みよざき）遊郭岩亀楼のお抱え遊妓喜遊を描いた浮世絵。当時、もともと日本人客専用の遊女だった喜遊が、アメリカ人客をとることを強要され、日本人としての純潔を守ろうと時世の句を詠んで自害したという話が伝えられ、それがさまざまな形で本や浮世絵として出版された。イメージをクリックすると、浮世絵の拡大図と、作中に記された文章の現代語・英語訳にアクセスできる。
Woodblock Prints
Shōgi Kiyū no hanashi | 娼妓喜遊之話説
August 9, 2022
Kiyū is the daughter of something-Ōta, a town doctor in Tokyo. At a young age, Kiyū fell into the life of a yujo (woman of pleasure, or prostitute) at her parents’ discretion.
Azuma esugata retsujo kurabe: yūgi Kiyū | 吾嬬繪姿烈女競
July 16, 2022
In 1853, both of her parents fell ill, forcing the family into poverty and causing Kiyū to sell herself into bondage…
Kokon meifu kagami: shōgi Kiyū | 古今名婦鏡： 娼妓喜遊
June 16, 2022
The family was poor due to her father’s illness and Kiyū was distressed by this. To cure his illness, Kiyū sold herself into bondage at Gankirō in Yokohama and used her earnings to afford medication.