Righteousness, from The Five Virtues

Suzuki Harunobu • 1767

Righteousness, from The Five Virtues, 1767

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Two young male courtesans enjoy reading in their quarters by candlelight. One holds an illustrated book recognizable as the drawing manual <em>Illustrated Book of the Treasure-Bag of Sketches</em> (絵本写宝袋), published in 1720 by Tachibana Morikuni (1679–1748). The poem at the top translates as follows: <br><br>In all things to be humble, <br>discern the path of reason, <br>and abstain from falsehood. <br>This is what we call righteousness.