The First Bath of the New Year (Yudono hajime), from the illustrated book "Colors of the Triple Dawn (Saishiki mitsu no asa)" c. 1787

Torii Kiyonaga created this woodblock print, “The First Bath of the New Year,” as part of an illustrated book. The setting is a bathhouse, where women are chatting and primping. Made in Japan, in the late eighteenth century, the print offers a window onto the leisure activities of the merchant classes. At this time, commercial publishing was booming, and color prints like this one brought scenes of urban life to a wide audience. The print is full of cultural information: the hairstyles, the style of dress, the details of the architecture. We also learn something about the customs around bathing and the New Year. The women depicted, with their elongated figures, were very fashionable at the time. Understanding this print means knowing something about the economic and cultural history of Japan in the Edo period. It means consulting the history of publishing, fashion, and social customs. It is through this kind of contextual research that we can better understand the public role of art.