This preparatory drawing depicts an Oiran (high-ranking courtesan) having sex with a patron, both wrapped within her robes. As the kiss atop the bedding, the oiran extends her long tobacco pipe towards her Tabakobon (portable smoking set) to empty the ash from her pipe. Besides them are the courtesan's elevated lauquer pillow and a wad of kaishi paper.

In the top-left corner, behind a folding screen, the head of a bamboo rake decorated with the mask of a plump, smiling woman known as an okame mask can be seen. Known as Kumade, these ornamental rakes were amulets sold at Ōtori Shrine in Asakusa, close to the south end of the Yoshiwara pleasure district, during the Tori no Ichi (day of the rooster) festival on the 11th month of the year. The Courtesan's patron likely brought this souvenir as a gift, as courtesans were forbidden from leaving the enclaved red-light district, and it was tradition to buy a kumade to “rake in” good fortune in the coming year.

The drawing is annotated with instructions indicating the colours intended for the final painting, produced either for a painting album or hand scroll, offering insight into the artist’s design process and planned palette.