A delicate sheet from the second volume of the celebrated book Hyakunin jorō shina-sadame (One Hundred Women Classified According to their Rank), depicting two courtesans engaged in quiet conversation. With his refined linear style and subtle elegance, Nishikawa Sukenobu portrays the beauty and dignity of women across all social levels.
Published in Kyoto in 1723, the work was soon censored by the Tokugawa bakufu, as its egalitarian representation of women—from empresses to streetwalkers—challenged the rigid class hierarchy of Edo-period Japan.
