A "night" at the Yoshiwara actually would consist of perhaps a long afternoon, evening, and night of eating, drinking, conversation, entertainment, and then--in a most cases--sex. In the case of high-ranking courtesans (especially tayû of the 17th and 18th centuries), a sexual liasion was not always guaranteed. Such women, possessed of the requisite hari (elan) had the option of refusing a client, often after elaborate courtship-like rituals and much expenditure on the part of the suitor to establish even the possibility of a union. Of course, this only made the untouchable courtesans even more desirable. The men pictured here are not among such high-ranking courtesans, but the one seems to be doing his best to ply one women with warm sake.