Looking as if she is enjoying herself - a teacher of the Keisei era 1888

Editor: Here we have "Looking as if she is enjoying herself - a teacher of the Keisei era," a woodblock print made in 1888 by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. The woman depicted looks so relaxed and self-possessed playing her instrument. What’s your read on this piece? Curator: This print offers a fascinating window into the representation of women and their roles within the floating world, or ukiyo, of the Keisei era. The “teacher” aspect is key, right? We must unpack what sort of education this woman provided and who were her students. Were they also women? What can this tell us about gender roles and the economy of pleasure during that period? Editor: That's an interesting way to frame it! I was only thinking about the visual representation of beauty. Curator: Absolutely! And her apparent enjoyment disrupts common tropes that often depict women solely as objects of male desire. Her agency as a musician, a teacher, and perhaps even as an independent economic entity, shifts our understanding of power dynamics within this era. Have you considered how the art movement Japonisme reflects European views on these dynamics? Editor: I haven’t made that connection explicitly before. Is the way she's "enjoying herself" itself a kind of quiet resistance? Curator: Exactly. By subtly centering the woman’s pleasure, Yoshitoshi seems to be subtly pushing back against more conventional depictions of women. It speaks volumes, doesn't it, about potential subversion hidden beneath the surface of seemingly innocuous genre scenes. Editor: I hadn’t considered the potential resistance encoded in such a simple, elegant image. It’s empowering to think about the artwork in these terms. Curator: Absolutely! It reveals the ongoing, often hidden dialogues concerning power and representation embedded in art from centuries past.