Looking as if she is waking up - The appearance of a maiden of the Koka era 1888

Here we see a woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, depicting a maiden of the Koka era in a state of undress, applying makeup. But let us delve deeper into the language of symbols. Notice the morning glories. In Edo period Japan, these flowers were potent symbols of fleeting beauty and transient love. The image of the morning glory is not isolated. Recall Botticelli's Venus, also emerging, reborn, from the sea, a testament to beauty and life. The act of applying makeup, a ritual of transformation, mirrors this act of becoming. It speaks to a universal desire to craft and project an image, to transcend the mundane. Just as the morning glory opens its petals each dawn, the woman awakens to a new version of herself. It's a psychological dance between the ephemeral and the eternal, a theme that echoes across cultures, in art from ancient Greece to contemporary performance. This cyclical process of renewal touches something profound within us.