women; men (male humans); kimonos; fans (costume accessories); snow (precipitation); trees; flowers (plants); hats; hair ornaments; hairstyles; built works
In 1338 the daughter of the governor of Iga Province went with her mother to the imperial palace in Kyoto, accompanied by the courtier Hino Suketoshi. One evening at a banquet for moon viewing, Suketoshi mistook Lady Nii's wine cup for his own, and...
Holding a Kyoto style doll, Otefu of the Kadoebi-ro stands near a display platform where lacquered stands and covered bowls suggest a Girls' Day display. The publication date of the 3rd day of the 3rd month (Girls' Day) of 1884 reinforces this...
women; courtesans; monks; men (male humans); children (people by age group); kimonos; hair ornaments; trees
A famous courtesan of Sakai took the name "Jigoku," meaning "hell," and had images of hell displayed on her robes and on the clothes of her attendants. She exchanged poems with the Zen monk Ikkyu (1394-1481), who frequented brothels as part of his...
women; kimonos; flowers (plants); tables (support furniture); calligraphy; hairstyles; hair ornaments; teapots; children (people by age group); swords; figurines
While Japan has many national and regional celebrations, five festivals / gosseku were given particular importance. Chikanobu presents them from right to left: the New Year Festival / Oshogatsu when special gifts are offered on footed trays of...
The courtesan Ainosuke of the brothel Inamoto-ro is seated before a mirror at her dressing table, fixing her hair. Her cotton yukata with a wave pattern and water wheel design suggests she has just returned from the bath. On a nearby clothes rack...
legends (folk tales); women; kimonos; lanterns; children (people by age group); fusuma; interior spaces; foxes (animals)
An image of a woman, with a fox's head (seen through a screen) walking through a door, leaving her child behind in the house. Foxes, or kitsune, are mysterious, magical creatures with powers many times greater than those of badgers. Sometimes...
Meiji period color woodblock triptych print depicting seven women in a room engaged in a poetry composition contest. Three of the women sit before writing tables, brushes in hand, writing poems on narrow strips of paper; a elderly woman sits with...
banners; parasols; flowers (plants); baskets; women; men (male humans); kimonos; processions; floats (vehicles); Built complexes and districts
This set of small deluxe prints revisited many of the subjects and themes Chikanobu had depicted in earlier and larger formats. But where the "Chiyoda Inner Palace" or Chiyoda Ooku series of triptychs portrayed the shogun's private quarters where...