Kunisada: Beauty With Kotatsu: Imado

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Title: Beauty With Kotatsu and Charcoal: Imado
Series: One Hundred Beautiful Women at Famous Places in Edo 江戸名所百人美女 Edo Meisho Hyakunin Bijyo:
Date: 1858

A beauty holds a red-hot piece of charcoal with chopstick-type implements, transferring it to the container that sits unseen beneath the cover of the kotatsu. A brilliant method of heating a small, enclosed space, the kotatsu was a wooden frame over which a quilt was draped, and beneath which charcoal could be placed in an earthen pot or brazier. We can see that it is winter from this beauty’s many layers of clothing, but her feet are bare as she hurriedly transfers the charcoal to its place beneath the kotatsu so that she can keep her legs nice and toasty. The inset view is Imado, which is now part of Asakusa in eastern Tokyo. 

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. 
Dimensions: ôban (36.5 x 24.8 cm)
Signature: Toyokuni ga

SKU: KUS505