Hour of the Dragon, 1794 (japanese print)

Tatsu no koku is the Hour of the Dragon, about 8:00 in the morning. Two courtesans are taking to their beds at this early hour, their exhaustion signified by their disheveled clothes and hair. It is unlikely their customers would see them in such a state and at such an hour. From the Seirō Jūnitoki Tsuzuki ("Twelve Hours in Yoshiwara" a series of twelve ukiyo-e prints designed by the Japanese artist Utamaro and published in c. 1794. They depict scenes of courtesans in the Yoshiwara pleasure district at each hour of the twelve-hour traditional Japanese time system.