Fumi no kiyogaki

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](/glossary/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.