Hari-shigoto

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.

Each sheet is ōban size, measuring about 37 by 25 centimetres (15 in × 10 in)[a][8] and bears Uemura's mark (上村) and the seal Utamaru hitsu (哥麿筆, "the brush of Utamaro").

[9] About the same time, Uemura published an untitled ōban-sized five-print series by Utamaro with the same yellowish backgrounds depicting woman in domestic situations.

Utamaro is known for the eroticism of his work which he displays subtly even in this middle-class domestic scene via exposed legs and breasts[10] and suggestive poses.