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Geisha and Courtesan: Culture
 Women and Painting
Although the Heian period (794-1185 A.D.) produced some of the most prolific women writers and artists, only a few elite could take part in such leisurely activities. However, throughout the Edo period (1615-1867 A.D.), an increasingly larger number of women took up the brush despite the fact that a woman's position in society was lower than ever before. During the Edo period, advancements in technology, the rise of commercialization, and relative peace and prosperity resulted in a more affluent middle class with both leisure time and money to spend. A benefit from this affluence was the push for popular education, including the education of women. During the Edo and Meiji (1868-1912 A.D.) periods, women were considered worthy of a certain amount of education. Every girl, except those in the lower classes, was trained in the domestic and aesthetic arts. This education included learning the Japanese written language, the Chinese classics, poetry, music, etiquette, flower arrangement, tea ceremony, calligraphy and painting, and in some areas, dancing. Such talents were considered suitable for a proper woman and wife. Geisha, like other women, also received a similar education. If women wanted to pursue painting more seriously, they would have to do so during their leisure time.
A number of women artists gained recognition for their abilities to paint. Many of these women came to practice the nanga style of painting, a style that derived from works performed by the Chinese scholar-official class. These particular artistic circles tended to adhere less ardently to the Confucian values and principals already instilled in Japanese culture, thus it was easier for women to participate in and practice this style of painting. Exemplary women artists of the nanga school include Ema Saiko, Yoshida Shuran, Kamei Shokin, Cho Koran and Tachihara Shunsa.
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