The Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarter was once an isolated world, on the outskirts of Edo, surrounded by a moat on all sides, and only accessible thorough the Daimon gate.

The inhabitants, the Yoshiwara courtesans, soon became the centre of popular culture with their iki and hari geisha-like sensuality and affected the way Edo of life; the Kabuki began to incorporate the dressing style into their acts and the songs sang became fashionable amongst common people. The pleasure land became a source of inspiration for poets and painters who depicted the scene, and through prints also influenced the Western art world.

Yoshida believes that where there is light, there is always a dark side, and acknowledges the suffering and unpleasantness. However, it is fact that the Yoshiwara courtesans influenced Edo culture and history.

By using traditional crafts makers in Hiroshima to create the Kakejiku, that has vast negative space or sora (sky), Yoshida has brought the Edo period to modern day through photography. Similar to Ukiyoe prints that were used as wrapping paper in Europe giving Van Gogh and Manet inspiration, Yoshida printed on cardboard. This is homage to the great masters and a sense of history.

This exhibition is Yoshida’s first solo exhibition and the title, WABIshabi, is a play on the Japanese aesthetics word wabi sabi: by replacing the word sa to sha (form the word shashin meaning photography). The prints are an edition of twelve to represent the twelve signs of the Zodiac and are sealed with a unique stamp.

 

Hair/Make: Mayumi Ono

Stylist: Tomomi Kakudo