During the Edo period (1603 - 1868), the Japanese clock was divided into twelve units of time, or hours, with each one named after one of the zodiacal symbols of the lunar calendar, and with the day being divided up into six daytime hours and six night-time hours. This woodblock print is taken from Kitagawa Utamaro's 1794-1795 ukiyo-e series 'Twelve Hours of the Green Rooms', sometimes styled 'Twelve Hours of the Yoshiwara', featuring everyday events in the lives of courtesans in Edo's Yoshiwara pleasure district. At the Hour of the Cock, around 6 oclock in the evening, the night shift begins in the Green Houses. A courtesan has been summoned by a client. She is led by an employee of the establishment, who illuminates her path with a lantern.