Images of Beauty Throughout the Ages

 

Hana Moyō (Patterns for Flowers), by Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915), is a series of triptychs published in 1896, each one of which features a beautiful woman from a specific historical era set against a distant background scene. The way the figure in the foreground is shown close-up in contrast to the smaller figures depicted in the background of each triptych makes this an unusual and striking set of designs. The title refers both to the beauties themselves (the flowers) and the patterns of their beautifully decorated garments. It's a stunning set and one of my favourites. It's also very interesting for anyone wanting to compare the modes of dress and arrangement of hair throughout different periods of Japanese history.

Above: The Keichō Era (1596-1615). The above design is often described as being a picture of a male actor; the subject is actually a woman. As we are so accustomed to the fact that men play both the male and female roles on the kabuki stage nowadays, and have done since 1629, it may surprise you to learn that kabuki's creator was in fact a woman. Her name was Okuni and she is the woman depicted here. She is shown dressed as a man, taking part in a performance which took place on the third day of the sixth month of 1606.

Above: The Kan'ei (1624-1643) and Shōhō (1644-1648) Eras. A beauty reading a scroll, wearing her hair in the shimada style.

Above: From the Jō-ō (1652-1655) to the Manji Era (1658-1661). A beauty wearing her hair in the karawa style, seated in a boat on the river, with another pleasure boat passing behind in the distance.

Above: The Kanbun Era (1661-1673). The woman shown in this print is wearing her hair in the katsuyama style, which was introduced during the middle of the seventeenth century and became very popular during the Genroku era (1688-1704). Her robe is adorned with a pattern of poetry cards.

Above: The Enpō Era (1673-1681). A beauty, wearing her hair loosely tied, reclines before a folding screen, upon which colourful theatrical scenes have been painted.

Above: The Kyōhō Era (1716-1736). A courtesan is shown during the nighttime, her hair falling around her shoulders. She is tying her sash and holding a wad of tissues between her teeth, something often seen in depictions of courtesans.

Above: The An'ei Era (1772-1781). The print above shows a young woman making her way to a bathhouse. She is wearing a ribbon around her hair (which is worn in the bai-mage style) to keep it tidy while she is bathing, there is a towel draped over her shoulder for drying off when she is done, and between her teeth she is holding a nukabukuro, a bran bag which, like modern soap, was used for washing the skin.

Above: The Tenmei Era (1781-1789). A beauty with her hair dressed in the tate-hyōgo style is shown holding a mirror in one hand and a tissue in the other as she applies her make-up, wearing a robe decorated with scenes from the Tale of Genji.

Above: The Bunka Era (1804-1818). A courtesan, wearing her hair in the shimada style, is dressing the hair of the courtesan before her, whose hair is arranged in the marumage style and adorned with numerous hair pins. You'll come across these two styles a lot amongst Utamaro's prints, as they were very popular towards the end of the 18th century and into the nineteenth.

Above: The Tenpō Era (1830-1844). In the above print, a courtesan is shown with men making their way along Naka-no-chō, the central boulevard of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, behind her. On the right, a man is advertising Ichi-ya noodles. Ichi-ya can also mean one night, as in one night stand, so the sign is also intended as a reference to the fleeting nature of the woman's relationships with the men who visit the pleasure quarter. Her hair is arranged in the yoko-hyōgo style and decorated with a multitude of pins. By this time, a courtesan's hair incorporated so much adornment, it's a wonder that she could walk without toppling over due to the sheer weight of it all.

Comments

[Jason Gignac]

I'm interested, not knowing much about Japanese history at all, was inhumanly pale a beauty standard, or simply a painting shorthand? I thought makeup left a piece of skin unpainted at the nape of the neck, which makes me wonder if the paleness was universally required, if they would have painted their hands, as they are so white in the paintings as well.

Also, what's with the holding things in their teeth? Was this to show off their lovely teeth, or spare their hands the work, or what?

[Gina Collia-Suzuki]

Pale skin was preferred. A white make-up was used on the face and neck, and courtesans (and some entertainers) applied it elsewhere too, such as their hands, feet and ankles, so they could show off pale feet when they shifted their skirts aside to give admirers a little thrill. There would have been a little area around the hairline at the nape of the neck that showed where the white make-up met the bare skin, but it's not always made obvious in prints. Utamaro designed an image of a woman powdering her neck that highlighted the contrast between the woman's skin and her make-up... It's one of my favourites, so I'll have to post it on here some time. Another reason for the paleness in the prints is that for the areas of bare skin the paper is simply left uncoloured.

As for holding things in the teeth, it depends on the object. Tissues being held in a courtesan's teeth tend to allude to her profession - she'd need them, after all. In other situations, biting down on fabric can signify the suppression of emotion.

[Travis]

Fascinating stuff as always. I look forward to some day getting a better feel for the hairstyles, their names, and when they were popular.

I am curious, why do you think the figure in the first image is Okuni? The squiggly hentaigana is a bit hard to make out, but I'm fairly certain the kanji for "Izumo" or "Okuni" do not appear...

[Malcolm R. Campbell]

What a wonderful series! I love your commentary.

Happy New Year.

Malcolm

[Gina Collia-Suzuki]

Travis, the name is in there, though not in the usual kanji. Kiyochika designed another print of Okinu, for the series 'kyōdō risshi no motoi', in which she is dressed in a very similar manner. Can't find an image of that right now, but it's a lovely print and she's a very imposing figure in it.

[Gina Collia-Suzuki]

Happy New Year to you too, Malcolm! Glad you enjoyed the prints. I love the vibrant colours... just breathtaking.

[Diane A. Phillips]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! for the incredible work you did on your catalog of Utamaro prints. I inherited a number of ukiyoe, including several Utamaros, and am able to find them in your catalog, all but one, which is an Ebisu which does not fit the descriptions of those in your catalog. The provenance goes back to the German ambassador to Japan during the 1930s, Solf, who was a friend of my parents-in-law and who gave them the print. Would you like me to email you a picture of it? Diane A.