Kasen Koi no Bu

Kasen Koi no Bu (歌撰恋之部, "Anthology of Poems: The Love Section") is a series of five ukiyo-e prints designed by the Japanese artist Utamaro and published c. 1793–94.

Ukiyo-e art flourished in Japan during the Edo period from the 17th to 19th centuries, and took as its primary subjects courtesans, kabuki actors, and others associated with the "floating world" lifestyle of the pleasure districts.

[2] A prominent genre was bijin-ga ("pictures of beauties"), which depicted most often courtesans and geisha at leisure, and promoted the entertainments of the pleasure districts.

[4] Utamaro experimented with line, colour, and printing techniques to bring out subtle differences in the features, expressions, and backdrops of subjects from a wide variety of class and background.

Compared to Utamaro's similar earlier series Fujin Sōgaku Jittai and Fujo Ninsō Juppin, the faces are much more close up, and the facial features and expressions more individuated and finely detailed.

[7] The woman in Mare ni Au Koi (稀ニ逢恋, "love that rarely meets") appears quite young and sheltered; she is probably in her teens.

Utamaro uses a limited number of colours in the print; the deep blacks of the protective collar around her kimono and her large, rounded hairstyle draws the attention, contrasting with the white of the woman's face and nape of her neck.

[8] The woman in Yogoto ni Au Koi (夜毎ニ逢恋, "love that meets each night") raises her eyes in delight as she holds a letter out from the breast pocket of her kimono.

Utamaro gives his subject a noble air and features pays close attention to realistic details of her face, such as the shape of her eyebrows and loose hairs straggling about.