Thoughts Reflected in a Mirror (Omoigoto kagami utsushi-e) 

Curator: Here we have Utagawa Kunisada’s woodblock print, "Thoughts Reflected in a Mirror," currently housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's whimsical, almost dreamlike, don't you think? The way the woman is posed with that cat... Curator: Indeed. Kunisada masterfully employs the mirror both as a literal object and a metaphorical device, reflecting not just the woman's image, but her inner thoughts as well. The flatness emphasizes line and color, typical of ukiyo-e. Editor: And the cat! It's as if her anxieties are manifested as this... well, slightly demonic feline. Curator: The print certainly plays with the duality of beauty and the unsettling, doesn't it? The mirror scene offers a tranquil counterpoint. Editor: Right, it is as if the cat represents a subconscious thought escaping from the mirror. It really pulls you in to what might be going on in her mind. Curator: A fascinating blend of the everyday and the symbolic. Editor: Absolutely, a brief moment of reflection captured and made wonderfully strange.