Design for the songlet -Dream woman- c. 1930

Takehisa Yumeji made this print titled 'Design for the songlet -Dream woman-,' and it’s like a little window into a private moment. Look at those delicate lines and the gentle colors. Imagine Yumeji carefully carving the woodblocks, layering the inks to create this image of a woman attending to herself. What was he thinking about as he watched her, probably from afar, or maybe an image he was constructing of a ‘dream woman’? It's not about perfection; it's about capturing a mood, a feeling, an ephemeral moment. It's like a half-remembered dream fading into the morning light. That little dab of red on her lips—it’s so subtle, but it speaks volumes. And the way the purple of her dress contrasts with the soft background… you get the sense of stillness but also this underlying current of desire. It reminds me of Utamaro and other artists who sought to capture the beauty and mystery of women's inner lives. You realize that artists are always building on each other's work. It's an ongoing conversation through time.