Seasonal themes were popular with ukiyo-e (literally “pictures of the floating world”) artists of the Edo Period (1600–1868), whose images often reflected the life of the pleasure quarters in Edo, now Tokyo. With her ornamented hairstyle and obi tied in front, the gorgeously-attired woman on the left in this image is recognizable as an oiran or high-ranking courtesan. Close behind her stands a young attendant called a kamuro. The woman on the right, also a courtesan, faces the oiran while kneeling with both hands on the red carpet in a gesture of respect to her senior.