Woman in front of the Tagawaya Teahouse

The Japanese artist Keisai Eisen (1790–1848) was a <em>bijin-ga</em> ('pictures of beautiful women') specialist whose portraits of the <em>yūjo</em> of Edo’s (Tokyo) brothel quarters closely assumed the subtly erotic aesthetic of Utamaro. His <em>bijin-ga</em> compositions of both <em>yūjo</em> and townswomen maintained the lissome, elongated figures, drooping limbs and winsome detachment of the earlier artist’s Yoshiwara (brothel quarter) portraits. In this woodblock print, the winter setting for the image of a woman walking alone in front of a teahouse (the sign at upper left reads ‘Kaiseki Tagawaya’, or ‘Tagawaya Teahouse’) in the chill of the evening is confirmed by the designs on her garments. The combination of snow falling on bamboo and the chilly blue tonality that dominates the composition confirm the winter season. The <em>obi</em> (sash) motifs of bats flying over a black ground echo the nocturnal setting. Winter evoked poignant associations for Edo viewers. In the verses of the classical collection <em>Kokinshyū</em> (<em>Collection from ancient and modern times</em>), for example: ‘Winter is essentially regarded as cold and lonely: “As for the mountain village, the loneliness only grows in winter, especially when one realises that visitors and grasses fade away” (<em>Yamazato wa fuyu zo sabishisa masarikeru hitome mo kusa mo karenu to omoeba</em> [Winter, no. 315]). The aloof detachment suggested in the cool facial expression of Eisen’s townswoman again echoes that of Utamaro’s subjects.

However, the showiness of the decorative brocades and ornate hems in Eisen’s women (see also his <em>Standing Beauty</em>, Te Papa 2016-008-1 for an even more exaggerated example) seem inconsistent with the reserve of <em>iki</em> convention (tastefulness, cool elegance) that inform the delicate femininity depicted by Harunobu or Koryūsai. Thus Eisen’s works were beginning to reflect the slow decay of fashion and manner, however splendid they are in themselves.

See: David Bell, 'Floating world at Te Papa: the Heriot collection', <em>Tuhinga</em>, 30 (2019), pp. 56-81.

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art    May 2019