legends (folk tales); men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); swords; kimonos; waterfalls (natural bodies of water); baskets
The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety are based on a compilation of Confucian tales of exemplary behavior by children to their elders. In this tale, Chi Shun went into the forest to gather mulberries for his widowed mother, throwing the ripe, black...
Three women in flowered kimono surround an aquarium containing long-finned goldfish. Behind them on a table sits a bonsai display, depicting a mountain and trees by a river. On the left a standing woman in a blue and pink tinted kimono and red obi...
This short biography of the famed kabuki actor Bando Hikosaburo V (1832-1877) was written by the novelist Okamoto Kisen and illustrated by Chikanobu. Hikosaburo came from a family of carpenters living in the Asakusa area of Edo and was adopted in...
The 10th century poetic anthology Tales of Ise contains several verses that reportedly describe the love life of Ariwara no Narihira (825-880). According to legend, this handsome poet and courtier eloped with Fujiwara no Koshi (842-910) who was...
women; kimonos; trees; flowers (plants); parasols; shores (landforms); children (people by age group); fishing; boats
Four women on a hillside overlook the pine-covered Ama-no-hashidate sand bar stretching into Miyazu Bay, considered one of Japan's three most scenic views. The woman standing on the left wears a black haori over a blue kimono and holds a closed...
A kneeling woman lifts a heavy padded cloth. She wears a gray kimono patterned with flying birds, grasses and a river and underneath this three white under robes, which show at the front and back openings of her long sleeves. Her orange obi is...
A young beauty looks away from the viewer, glancing back over her left shoulder. She wears a comb and a flowered hair ornament with a blue and white tassel in her hair and a ring on her left hand. Three layers of kimono are visible: a gray...