Miyanoshita (Name of One of the Hot Springs at Hakone) 1769 - 1789

Torii Kiyonaga created this woodblock print titled, *Miyanoshita (Name of One of the Hot Springs at Hakone)*, sometime between 1780 and 1790. It offers a window into the Edo period in Japan, a time of economic growth and relative peace, but also rigid social hierarchies. Kiyonaga, as a member of the Torii school, specialized in portraying the lives and fashions of Edo's courtesans and beauties, known as *bijin-ga*. Here, we see two women in a moment of leisure at Miyanoshita, a celebrated hot spring resort. The details of their clothing, the way they carry themselves, all speak to a carefully constructed image of femininity. However, this idealized representation exists within a society that heavily regulated women’s roles, particularly those in the pleasure districts. The print invites us to consider not only the aesthetic beauty but also the complex realities of women's lives during this era. It’s a depiction of the exterior, the surface, yet it hints at the depths of identity shaped by both personal experience and societal expectations. It makes you wonder about their lives beyond the picturesque scene.