A dancing girl, maiko, in winter

A maiko (apprentice geisha) depicted in winter, her elaborate seasonal kimono exchanged for the heavier brocades appropriate to the cold months, her long dangling kanzashi (hair ornaments) catching the pale winter light. The maiko figure is the defining subject of Sadanobu III's career: the young women of the Gion and Pontecho districts undergoing their years of training in Kyoto's entertainment culture, their elaborate dress and ritual self-presentation embodying the aesthetic ideals of the karyukai (flower and willow world). Winter gives the composition a particular restraint.