Hour of the Dog: 19:00 - 21:00

One design from Utamaro's famous series 'Twelve Hours in the Yoshiwara' - actually 24 hours, as the day is here broken into 12 2-hour groups.

This one represents the Hour of the Dog, which equates roughly to what we would call 8:00 pm. A courtesan is writing a long letter, probably to a lover, and whispers something to her attendant.

The series makes extensive use of tiny flakes of gold leaf scattered around the background. This version is from the Adachi Company, probably from the 70s to early 80s.