Looks Smoky: A Married Woman of the Kyowa Period, from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners"
風俗三十二相 けむさう 享和年間内室之風俗
- Birth Year
- 1839
- Death Year
- 1892
- Date
- 1888 (published by Tsunashima Kamekichi)
- Technique, Material, Format
- woodblock
- Dimension
- sheet: 37.4 x 25.2 cm
- Donor name
- Mr. Kato Eiichi
- Category
- Print by Japanese Artist
- Inventory Number
- 85-PRJ-147
"I can’t stand those things. They’re so smoky..." So the woman seems to say, with her eyebrows knitted, her eyes narrowed, and her lips taut. The depiction of the smoke—perhaps from a mosquito coil—is also excellent. In addition to the charm of its gently curving lines, a lot of attention has been paid to the way that it obscures the indigo of the kimono, the black of the obi, and the vermilion of the Genjiko incense motif on the fan. It is amazing to think that such delicate expression was created by carving a wooden board, applying ink, and printing from it. Each strand of the woman’s hair also repays close inspection.
Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners is a series that depicts the attire and behavior of women from across various eras and social classes. In this work, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi depicts the Kyowa Era (1801-04), which predates his own birth.
(SAKAMOTO Kyoko)