Elegant; A Lady of the Imperial Court in the Kyōwa Period 1888

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi created this woodblock print of a lady of the Imperial Court in Japan, sometime around the 1860s. Yoshitoshi was working at a time of enormous social change, as Japan opened up to the west and its traditional hierarchies came under threat. Woodblock prints were a vital form of popular media and political commentary. In this print, Yoshitoshi presents us with an ideal of feminine beauty rooted in ancient courtly traditions. The woman’s powdered face, shaved eyebrows and elaborate hairstyle speak of a highly cultivated aesthetic world, far removed from the rapidly modernising society around it. How do we read this image? Is it an exercise in nostalgia, or perhaps a subtle critique of contemporary values? Archival sources, such as diaries, letters, and fashion magazines, can help us understand how people at the time would have interpreted the visual codes of dress and appearance. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.