- XVIII

S-0081

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 31.9; Larghezza: 43.8

carta giapponese- xilografia

Tabemono no Bi. Bellezza gusto immagine dei cibi giapponesi - Genova, Museo d’Arte Orientale Edoardo Chiossone - 31 ottobre 2015 – 11 settembre 2016

The woodblock print depicts a view of the interior of the restaurant on the ground floor of the Chōjiya, one of the most renowned pleasure houses in Yoshiwara. In the foreground, on the left, behind a low double folding screen, sits a group of three customers and six entertainment professionals: the conversation seems to have just begun and the first course has just been brought by an attendant, who withdraws, prostrating himself on the floor. On the right, several kitchen workers are busy cleaning vegetables, tending the stove, rinsing fish, and pounding rice for mochi cakes, while the head chef, seen from behind, is preparing to slice a large fish placed on the cutting board. A large stack of sake barrels is placed against the right wall, and in the background is the entrance curtain with the emblem of the house. On the left, in the background, several courtesans linger in the large room from which the staircase to the upper floor branches off. All around the perimeter there are small rooms and lounges with sliding walls open, one of which is equipped to store trays and tableware.