During the Edo Period (1603–1868), many women were involved in various routines in the Ooku, or the women’s quarters within Edo Castle, which was headed by the official wife of the shogun. The lady in this painting is wearing a kimono that only the upper ranks of the Ooku were permitted to wear, so she looks like she must be the wife of a high-ranking samurai, and yet her face is that of a foreigner. It is a portrait of a foreign woman depicted in the style of a samurai’s wife. The legs appear longer and the waist thinner than those of Japanese women of the time. We know that such paintings were created as souvenirs for foreigners visiting Yokohama from the end of the Edo Period to the Meiji Period (1868–1912). However, it is generally not known how the images were made, and the identity of this woman is not known either.
(YATSUYANAGI Sae)
During the Edo Period (1603–1868), many women were involved in various routines in the Ooku, or the women’s quarters within Edo Castle, which was headed by the official wife of the shogun. The lady in this painting is wearing a kimono that only the upper ranks of the Ooku were permitted to wear, so she looks like she must be the wife of a high-ranking samurai, and yet her face is that of a foreigner. It is a portrait of a foreign woman depicted in the style of a samurai’s wife. The legs appear longer and the waist thinner than those of Japanese women of the time. We know that such paintings were created as souvenirs for foreigners visiting Yokohama from the end of the Edo Period to the Meiji Period (1868–1912). However, it is generally not known how the images were made, and the identity of this woman is not known either.
(YATSUYANAGI Sae)