Vrouwen bij de Ebisuya winkel c. 1842

This woodblock print called "Women at the Ebisuya Shop" was made by Utagawa Kunisada in Japan sometime before his death in 1865. It depicts two women in elaborate dress walking past a shopfront. Prints like these were immensely popular in Japan at the time. They were part of a floating world of fashionable pleasure, romantic encounters, and commercial exchange. Here, the women's fine robes, hairstyles, and makeup indicate their status. The Ebisuya shop suggests a bustling urban environment where consumers can acquire the latest goods. Such prints offer a glimpse into the social life of Japan's urban centers, showing the fashions, customs, and cultural values of the era. As historians, we look to these images as documents of material culture, using them alongside written accounts and other sources to understand the everyday lives of people in the past. By studying the visual codes in this print, we can better understand the social structures and cultural norms that shaped Japanese society at this time. In this way, art becomes a valuable resource for understanding the past.