131004-0105-OS - Two Prostitutes on a Ferry

Two women standing on a ferry crossing the Sumidagawa River in Edo (current Tokyo), 1857 (Ansei 4).

The women are so called yotaka, the lowest class of prostitutes. Many of them used thick make-up to cover up the scars of disease.

This woodblock print is image 105 in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (名所江戸百景, Meisho Edo Hyakkei), a series created by ukiyoe artist Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重, 1797–1858).

It is one of 20 winter scenes in the series.

Title: Oumayagashi (御厩河岸)

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