The Boston Globe

An intimate scene not as idyllic as it appears

UNEARTHING HIDDEN TREASURES IN THE COLLECTION­S OF NEW ENGLAND MUSEUMS

- By Sebastian Smee GLOBE STAFF

At once a brutish town dominated by men and a beautiful garden metropolis where the arts flourished, 18th-century Tokyo, or Edo, was so full of contradict­ions that it tends to defeat the modernWest­ern mind’s attempts to plumb it. A sort of shared fantasy is the result, shaped and buttressed by the period’s intimate and elegant art.

This painted scroll, by the virtually unknown Kawashima Shigenobu, was recently put on display at theMuseum of Fine Arts. It is characteri­stic of all that beguiles us about Ukiyo-e, or Floating-World art.

It shows a woman sipping sake as she and her male friend snuggle next to a “kotatsu”— a low table covered with a decorated futon or blanket for warmth. As they discuss calligraph­y and, presumably, play footsie under the blanket, a child attendant watches on.

Lest we fall for the notion that Kawashima, a follower of the influentia­l Nishikawa Sukenobu, has depicted a lovely domestic idyll, it should be borne in mind that the woman is a courtesan and the man her client.

In a city still ruled by shoguns, where men made up over 63 percent of the population, courtesans played a central and, in many particular­s, a privileged role. Sex slaves, who were usually forced into prostituti­on at a young age, they could nonetheles­s, if they were lucky, achieve high status and a certain level of control.

Clients were expected to entertain and bring benefits to courtesans— including loyalty— that went beyond money, and encompasse­d a whole way of life. Leading courtesans were treated as heroines akin to today’s movie stars, and held in higher regard than most married women.

Attitudes toward sex in 18th-century Japan— it goes without saying— were less inhibited than in the Christian-West. And prostituti­on itself, although carefully monitored by the government, was not considered immoral.

Courtesans found themselves at the center of a sort of alternativ­e society— a “floating world”— dedicated not just to sex but to sophistica­ted pleasures, including theater, music, and poetry. The result was a fictionali­zed version of reality geared exclusivel­y toward pleasure.

Ukiyo-e artists were deeply involved in cultivatin­g this fiction, which depended upon, even as it ignored, many more sordid realities. Kawashima’s painting is so enchanting partly because of its doll’s house, fiction-within-fiction quality.

The prime fiction— of an unhurriedl­y erotic life of cozy domestic pleasure— is enhanced by artful reinforcem­ents on the walls behind. On the left hangs a scroll painting of a glamorous courtesan, while over on the right is a screen with a painting of birds cavorting over frothing waves.

The compositio­n is filled with details and competing patterns, and with sinuous curves set against severe perpendicu­lars. But it breathes easily, and promises— however falsely— a similar possibilit­y for those who view it. Sebastian Smee can be reached at ssmee@globe.com.

 ?? MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON ?? By Kawashima Shigenobu At: Museum of Fine Arts, 6172679300, www.mfa.org
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON By Kawashima Shigenobu At: Museum of Fine Arts, 6172679300, www.mfa.org

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