''Kushi'' (, "Comb", ) is a title given to a print by the Japanese

ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...

artist

Kitagawa Utamaro Kitagawa Utamaro ( ja, 喜多川歌麿; – 31 October 1806) was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his ''bijin ōkubi-e'' "large-headed ...

. It depicts a woman looking through a clear glass comb.

Background

Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...

art flourished in Japan during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

from the 17th to 19th centuries, and took as its primary subjects

courtesans Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

actors, and others associated with the "floating world" lifestyle of the pleasure districts. Alongside paintings, mass-produced

woodblock prints Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is create ...

were a major form of the genre. In the mid-18th century full-colour ' prints became common, printed using a large number of woodblocks, one for each colour. A prominent genre was ' ("pictures of beauties"), which depicted most often

and geisha at leisure, and promoted the entertainments of the pleasure districts.

(–1806) made his name in the 1790s with his ''bijin

ōkubi-e An is a Japanese portrait print or painting in the ukiyo-e genre showing only the head or the head and upper torso. Katsukawa Shunkō I (1743–1812) is generally credited with producing the first ōkubi-e. He, along with Katsukawa Shunshō ...

'' ("large-headed pictures of beautiful women") portraits, focusing on the head and upper torso, a style others had previously employed in portraits of kabuki actors. Utamaro experimented with line, colour, and printing techniques to bring out subtle differences in the features, expressions, and backdrops of subjects from a wide variety of class and background. Utamaro's individuated beauties were in sharp contrast to the stereotyped, idealized images that had been the norm.

Description and analysis

A woman holds up a transparent comb, most likely of glass. Her lower face can easily been seen through it. It was published in ''

ōban An Ōban (大判) was a monetary ovoid gold plate, and the largest denomination of Tokugawa coinage. Tokugawa coinage worked according to a triple monetary standard, using gold, silver and bronze coins, each with their own denominations. The fi ...

'' size (about ) by . Utamaro made a hand-fan painting similar to this print called ''Giyaman Oshima'' (). The name is inscribed on the fan. ''Giyaman'' is an Edo-period Japanese word for "glass", so the name translates as "Glass Oshima". She was likely a popular beauty in Edo of the day.

References

Works cited

* * * * {{Portal bar, Japan, Visual arts 1796 prints 1795 prints Triptychs Women in art Works by Kitagawa Utamaro