women; children (people by age group); kimonos; porches; blinds (coverings); hairstyles
A lady in a bird-decorated kimono stands on a veranda under a full moon. Her hair hangs loose over her shoulders and she has "moth wing" eyebrows painted on her forehead. A young girl beside her points to something out of the picture and looks up...
courtesans; women; kimonos; hairstyles; hair ornaments; fans (costume accessories); children (people by age group); lanterns (lighting devices); tables (support furniture); porches; men (male humans)
A Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarters courtesan named Takao looks out at the moon and the bird flying by, thinking perhaps of her lover. Her costume and hairstyle closely resemble that the 17th century Takao portrayed by Yoshitoshi in his series "One...
children (people by age group); men (male humans); porches; folding screens; trees; flowers (plants); swords; fusuma
According to the inscription on the left side, this composition was originally a painting by Chikanobu that he entered in the Second Painting Competitive Exhibition / Dai ni Kaiga Kyoshinkai held in 1884. The work received the bronze prize and was...
Although Lady Matsushima was an attendant of the shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo (1192-1219), Hojo Tomotoki (1193-1245), second son of the regent Hojo Yoshitoki, frequently sent her love letters, even though she was deeply in love with Wada Asahina...
Emperor Nintoku (reigning 313-399 according to the Nihon Shoki) noticed throughout his realm an absence of smoke from kitchen fires (a sign of widespread poverty), and so he exempted the people from mandatory labor services for three years. This...
women; children (people by age group); elderly; kimonos; fans (costume accessories); porches; gardens; Japanese maple; lanterns (lighting devices)
In print #6 Chikanobu has inverted the filial piety narratives: Cui Nanshan’s young wife Lady Tang willing suckles her husband’s great grandmother, who has no teeth, but in the Japanese scene, a mother attracts her baby son to come nurse. The...
In the 11th century novel Tale of Genji, the Third Princess, young wife of the middle age Prince Genji, ventures to the verandah of her quarters to observe some courtiers playing kickball / kemari. Although she is supposed to stay hidden behind...
women; men (male humans); kimonos; lanterns (lighting devices); swords; built works; porches
In the epic novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden by Takizawa Bakin (1767-1848), eight warriors, whose names contain the character for "dog" / ken, are called upon to defend the Satomi family domain. Inuzaka Shino is shown on the verandah of the Taigyu...
women; temples; porches; Japanese maple; mountains; kimonos; built works; lanterns (lighting devices)
Lady Murasaki Shikibu author of the 11th century novel The Tale of Genji, stands on the verandah of the Buddhist temple at Ishiyama, where she reportedly began writing one of the 54 chapters of her book which documents the lives and loves of three...
Meiji period color woodblock print depicting a beautiful woman of the Tenmei era adjusting her hair pins. In a insert above her a party gathers on an engawa or veranda.
Meiji period color woodblock print depicting the Emperor Go Daigo, beyond a screen at night, joining the moon viewing and poetry reciting of court ladies and attendants at the Imperial Villa in Yoshino.
porches; bridges (built works); princes; kimonos; hats; Japanese maple; swords
Meiji period color woodblock triptych depicting a seated Prince Genji attended by his maids watching two actors performing on a bridge. The sun is setting in the background.
On the second floor of a Western-style building, probably the famous Rokumeikan, Japanese couples appear to be taking dancing lessons, accompanied by two pianists. The young people seem awkward in movement and intent in their expressions,...
Print no. 8 in series. Throughout his life Laolai acted like a baby to amuse his elderly parents. By contrast, Rorai gracefully dances to the accompaniment of a shamisen, suggesting that the scene takes place in a high-class brothel. The sliding...
porches; dwellings; Single Built Works; women; kimonos; children (people by age group); men (male humans); infants; fans (costume accessories); toys (recreational artifacts); stoves (heating equipment); lanterns (lighting devices); Japanese maple
Print. no. 6 from the series of parodies of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety. The top panel illustrated the story of Lady Tang who breast fed her elderly, toothless mother-in-law. In the lower panel a baby is crawling toward its mother, who...
group portrait; princes; women; kimonos; hairstyles; men (male humans); hair ornaments; flowers (plants); swords; toys (recreational artifacts); children (people by age group); banners; blinds (coverings); porches; carriages (vehicles)
The emperor appears at far left dressed in traditional court robes surrounded by his female attendants, some of whom are helping wheel a baby carriage and toy horses into the palace chamber. Being published in May 1878, this seems like a...
The Hachiman Shrine at "Zither Strumming Hill" / Kotohikiyama gets its name from the Shinto god Hachiman of Usa, who reportedly appeared here in 703 to the sound of koto music. The hilltop shrine buildings overlook a beach famous for its many...
