[1] Kawanabe Kyōsai is depicted on her dress, or sometimes "Hotei (one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune) in the guise of Jizō, the guardian of children, travelers, and the underworld.
Other depictions include karako (a Chinese child motif that represents prosperity of the family and its posterity), in which the children stack jewels.
[3] She started to call herself "Hell Courtesan" after an encounter with a Buddhist monk, Ikkyu Sojun, who was known for his taste for sake and prostitutes.
Santō Kyōden's book from 1809,[5] All Records of Drunken Enlightenment of Our Country, tells that she "found him dancing with a bunch of skeletons instead of being entertained by dancers and geisha.
[6][5] Dayu was the highest rank of a courtesan, and Jigoku means not only hell, but the homonym also meant "the lowest streetwalker prostitute in the Edo period".