Dressing the hair

In this print two women prepare for the evening by arranging their hair with the aid of mirrors. The intimacy and implied sensuality of the scene is expressed in the women’s bare forearms, the exposed knees of the first figure, and the nape of the second woman’s neck. It belongs to a set of prints with yellow backgrounds published by Uemura Yohei around 1794 to 1795. Mica is used for the mirrors’ reflective surfaces, and printed glue (ink mixed with animal-based glue, called nikawa) imparts a lustrous surface to the lacquered mirror stand and frames.