Woman on an outing with two female attendants

Kiyonaga was an especially acute observer of fashion in the city of Edo. This print comes from his celebrated series Current Manners in Eastern Brocade, of which twenty surviving designs are known. The term “eastern brocade” (azuma no nishiki) refers to the fullcolor prints of Edo — suggesting that they are as sumptuous and colorful as the luxurious woven textiles made in Western Japan, particularly Kyoto. The prints’ subject matter also elevates the series above the common themes of ukiyo-e by portraying respectable women of various classes with their female and sometimes male attendants, rather than denizens of the pleasure quarters. This print shows an unmarried woman of the samurai class dressed in a woven bamboo sun hat (sugegasa), an underrobe of red and white cherry blossoms and a sheer ramie or silk gauze furisode patterned around the hem with a paste-resist-dyed white decoration. Now brown, the robe was likely originally blue or purple. Her two attendants, similarly dressed in unlined kosode, carry a parasol to protect their skin from the sun. All three wear soft sashes (shigoki obi) below their main obi to hike up the excess length while they are outside. Kiyonaga depicts the fine summer garments with exquisite ripples of fabric, draping over the women’s bare feet.