A Noble Young Lady, from the series "A Mirror of Feminine Manners (Onna fuzoku masu kagami)" c. 1790

This is a woodblock print from the late 18th century by Torii Kiyonaga, titled "A Noble Young Lady." It's one of a series that examines feminine manners in Japan during the Edo period. The image presents a young woman of the upper class with her attendants. Cherry blossoms suggest a specific season, but also the fleeting nature of beauty and life, a popular theme in Japanese art and poetry. Kiyonaga’s work is interesting as it offers a window into the rigid social hierarchy of Edo-era Japan. The women's clothing, hairstyles, and activities all speak to their social standing and gender roles. As an art historian, I would be looking at popular literature and theatre from the period, as well as sumptuary laws that regulated clothing and other displays of wealth to understand the image better. Contextualizing it with the institutional history of printmaking, we can examine Kiyonaga's career in relation to the publishing houses that supported his artistic production.