hair ornaments; calligraphy; mirrors; hand mirrors
To celebrate and document the fashions of former times, Chikanobu created a chronological presentation of beautiful women in sumptuous garments. Above the foreground figures are pictorial insets which make reference to the era of the costume,...
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...
Watanabe no Tsuna, a Heian retainer of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, accepted a dare to keep vigil at the Rasho Gate, reputed to be haunted by demons. He took up a post at the gate, and in the darkness, he was attacked by the demon--an oni. Drawing his...
children (people by age group); hair ornaments; hairstyles; kimonos; dolls
This series depicts a variety of girls and women in both modern and traditional costumes. Some hold fans, flowers or books, while others play musical instruments, read the newspaper or drink beverages. Nearly all have their heads turned slightly,...
This later Setsu gekka series, which numbers at least 30 prints, is rather lyrical in its depiction of seasonal change. Flower petals flutter to the ground as a little dog tugs on its leash. Mist crosses a full summer moon as Niwaka Festival...
men (male humans); women; mountains; trees; kimonos
The upper panel shows the Chinese boy Shun with a hoe and the main image has a Japanese woman with a hoe. According to the Guo Jujing story, Shun was so diligent in plowing his parents' field, even though they were cruel to him, that elephants came...
Emperors; courts (social groups); fountains; kimonos; military uniforms; lanterns (lighting devices); flags; trees; Built complexes and districts; clock towers; bands (ensembles)
The emperor and court ladies stand between two fountains that flank the entry into the Ueno Park compound housing the Second National Industrial Exhibition that was open to the public from 01 March to 30 June 1881. Such fairs followed European and...
women; children (people by age group); Single Built Works; trees; banners; kimonos; sandals
A mother carries her son on her back "horse riding" / uma nori - piggy back- style while her daughter entertains him with some hand puppets of a fox woman and samurai. The inset shows the Inari Shrine at Oji, one of the oldest Shinto sites in the...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); kimonos
In this comparison, humor dominates lessons in filial piety. While the Chinese lad Yang Xiang was noted for having saved his father from a tiger, the little boy in the lower scene hardly needs to protect his mother from the family cat. In fact,...
Within the series of more than 20 triptychs, at least 2 have close-up scenes, in which the figures dominate the composition. When viewing these images mounted in a handscroll format, the sudden appearance of these large forms in quite jarring...
Meiji period color woodblock print from the series "Blossoming of Glorious Colors." Two courtesans sit with musical instruments in a room overlooking a water garden. A stone lantern sit under a pine outside the door; in the distance a bridge arcs...
men (male humans); military uniforms; dresses (garments); porches; gardens; draperies (curtains)
The production and promulgation of the Constitution was a series of important political and cultural events in the 1880's that were widely illustrated by artists. On the morning of 11 February 1889 the emperor formally issued the Constitution in...
Through autumn rains and winter snowstorms the love struck Shii no Shosho vowed to travel from Kyoto to Fukakusa for 100 successive nights in order to merit an opportunity to meet the 9th century poet Ono no Komachi, renown for her beauty and...
At New Year's playing with silk thread balls / itomari was popular among girls and women. Such hand balls / temari were filled with natural sponges for bouncing or with cloth or hair if used for rolling, tossing or just decoration. Here two older...
Moonlight gives a soft pink glow to the cherry blossoms and falling petals. The woman at center carries a woven bamboo lantern that also shines up into the tree limbs. The breeze that caused a cascade of petals has also touched her sleeves to sway,...
families; women; children (people by age group); Single Built Works; dwellings; kimonos; hats; suits
Print no. 4 of the "24 Paragons" shows at top the story of Min Ziqian (J: Binshiken) whose stepmother preferred his stepbrothers. When his father found out, the wife was ordered out of the house, but young Min begged his father to allow her to...
In the 6th month of alternate years in Edo/Tokyo, the Sanno Festival was celebrated with a parade of floats, banners, musicians and specially dressed groups processing from the Shinto Shrine of Hie Sanno Jinja to Edo Castle. The parade would pass...
The 3 foreground figures appear to be enjoying an outing by Edo Bay, stopping near a rock outcropping and pine tree. Since these elegantly dressed women appear to be engaged in a conversation, it is uncertain what the kneeling woman is pointing out...
men (male humans); battles; warriors; armor (protective wear); flames; balconies
he 1898 print set "Heike monogatari" published by Fukuda Hatsujiro was reissued in 1906 by Narasawa Kenjiro, evidently available with non-Heike or Genji warriors added, of which this is an example. This new collection has appeared under the title...
Among the legends represented in the 24 Paragons of Filial Piety is the story of Wang Xiang (Osho), a third-century court official who, to fulfill his ill stepmother's craving for fresh fish in midwinter, caught some carp by lying on the ice until...
