Shunchō Katsukawa

A young couple are looking at one another happily. The scene is set in an upper-class household - perhaps it is a case of two servants flirting. The man is identifiable due to his legally-prescribed hairstyle, for the pate had to be shaved. The dog is a further indication of the elevated social status, an expensive imported breed. The elongated format is referred to as a pillar picture because, among other things, the prints were actually hung on the pillars in the house as a form of decoration.