Beauty in an Autumn Field

This young woman is shown wearing a gaily decorated kimono whose skirts have been blown asunder by an autumn breeze. The flowers shown behind the woman, a Japanese bush clover and a eulalia, have erotic meaning in the Japanese system of secret coded language. This type of ukiyo-e painting, showing glimpses of female flesh, is called abuna-e . Koryusai was an ukiyo-e artist active in the latter half of the 18th century who was known as a follower of Suzuki Harunobu and excelled in images of beautiful women. Unusual for an ukiyo-e artist, Koryusai was granted the honorary rank of hokkyo in 1782. The signature on this painting includes the hokkyo title, and hence the work is thought to date from 1782 or later.