Description
The artist Mizuno Toshikata (水野年方) played a key role in the transition from traditional ukiyo-e (浮世絵) to the woodblock prints of modern Japan. This delicate kuchi-e (口絵) frontispiece is an example of this: the schoolgirl depicted here while sketching outdoors, with her hisashigami (庇髪) hairstyle, the comfortable hakama (袴) pants and a western parasol, is the icon of a new conception of femininity.
The work, taken from vol. 9 n. 9 of the famous literary magazine Bungei Kurabu (文芸倶楽部), was printed in 1903 by the Hakubunkan (博文館) publishing house and is titled “Beauty sketching in the suburbs” (美人の郊外写生).
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite a small restoration on the upper right, is in good condition.
