Standing Beauty c. late 19th century

Utagawa Yoshitaki created this print of a standing beauty in the late 19th century, using ink and color on paper. Yoshitaki lived during a time of great social and political change in Japan, as the country opened up to the West after a long period of isolation. The figure in this print is an example of a bijin-ga, literally "picture of beautiful women," a common subject in Japanese woodblock prints. Bijin-ga often depicted courtesans or women of the pleasure quarters, but they also represented an idealized vision of femininity. Yoshitaki’s print invites us to consider the role of women in Japanese society at the time. This work encourages us to think about the ways in which gender and class are represented in art, and how these representations reflect and shape our understanding of identity. The woman's gaze, averted and demure, reinforces traditional notions of femininity, while the luxuriousness of her kimono hints at a life of privilege and leisure. What does this artwork tell us about the construction of beauty and the complexities of female identity in 19th-century Japan?