Night Rain

This print is one of a series of eight showcasing unlicensed prostitutes from Shinagawa, a coastal village at the southern edge of Edo (modern Tokyo). The seated woman, dressed for bed in a lightweight gauze robe through which her red under-robe is visible, holds a scroll of paper—probably a love letter. A pile of crumpled paper lies at her side, as if she has tired of her correspondent. A companion, standing languidly beside her, reaches to adjust a hairpin, exposing the sensuous nape of her neck. Fine parallel lines at the edge of her sash (obi) indicate that it is made of soft-cut velvet, a material fashionable at the time this print was published.