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Fumi no kiyogaki by Chōkōsai Eishō — Japanese Print, 1801

Fumi no kiyogaki

by Chōkōsai Eishō

Date:
1801
Medium:
Print

Description

A Victoria and Albert Museum print dated 1801, this design titled Fumi no kiyogaki ('A Fair Copy of a Letter') depicts a woman in the act of writing or copying out a letter — a classical bijin-ga motif that allowed the artist to picture a moment of feminine literacy and interiority. The title alludes to the careful, neat hand in which a courtesan would copy out a final fair copy of a private letter to a patron, the writing itself being one of the cultivated accomplishments by which top-ranked Yoshiwara women were judged. The 1801 date places this print at or just past the end of Eishō's securely attributed career; it is among the latest works recorded under his signature. The V&A's impression preserves the design cleanly and provides an endpoint marker for his short, concentrated production.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Fumi no kiyogaki was created by Chōkōsai Eishō (鳥高斎栄昌) in 1801.