Itsukushima moon - a Muro courtesan, from the series One hundred aspects of the moon

The woman dressed in the fashion of the Heian period is a courtesan from Muro, a port city known for its pleasure quarters and the beauty and elegance of its courtesans. She is approaching the huge ‘torii’ of the main shrine on Itsukushima, now called Miyajima, in the Inland Sea. The Taira family, whose rivalry and war with the Minamoto family is the subject of the famous ‘Tale of Heike’ epic, were patrons of the shrine, and the courtesan may be Taira no Muronotsu’s mistress. Pictured in the print are items from a poem compiled by Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127–92): ‘The things a courtesan likes: songs, a drum, a boat, the bearer of a large umbrella …’