Japanese Ukiyo-e Art Print Poster Woodblock Wall Decor Kitagawa Utamaro Geisha Maiko Elegant Cute Kimono Tattoo Beautiful Japan Calligraphy

UKIYO-E
JAPANESE WOODBLOCK
ART PRINT

Portrait of Tomimoto Toyohina (Tomimoto Toyohina 富本豊雛) by Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1795–96.

A portrait of a celebrated beauty from a renowned master of "bijin ōkubi-e" ("pictures of beautiful women").

Tomimoto Toyohina was a very popular geisha who excelled in storytelling accompanied by the shamisen ("jōruri"). Here we see her immaculately turned out, little hand pulling on the collar in a graceful gesture, fan in the other hand. On her hair there is a head-covering called agebōshi - it was used by women to protect their beautiful and complicated hairstyles from wind and dust when they went out. The silk agebōshi is fixed at the front with a decorated pin, a finishing touch in a look of impossible elegance.

The composition of objects in the top right corner signifies that she was indeed an artist and not a "courtesan" - at that time it was prohibited to name women in ukiyo-e prints unless they were courtesans, so Utamaro circumvents that by creating a picture riddle. Here, a lottery box ("tomi"), duckweed ("mo"), and a whetstone ("to") spell out "Tomimoto" and a door ("to"), a lantern to suggest night ("yo"), and a doll ("hina") signify Toyohina ♡

★ Reproduced from an archive image, respectfully and lovingly restored and enhanced digitally, to remove the non-artistic blemishes and colour fading.

★ A3 print, 297mm x 420mm. (Interior images are shown for styling and illustrative purposes only, not to be used as a precise scale guide. There will be no watermarks on the actual print.)

★ Printed in England on a 350gsm Eucalyptus paper, made from eucalyptus pulp from sustainable sources. It is brilliant white and smooth and Eco printed with high pigment environmentally-friendly toners.

★ Supplied unframed, carefully rolled and packed with tissue paper in a strong cardboard tube for safe transit.

FRAMED / READY-TO-HANG LISTING ALSO AVAILABLE here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1190354477

(Interior images are shown for styling and illustrative purposes only, not to be used as a precise scale guide. There will be no watermarks on the actual print.)

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Female silhouette vector created by renata.s - www.freepik.com