Bijin 2

A bijin study — one of the graphite or woodblock preparatory images that Goyo produced in large numbers as he developed his compositions. The "Bijin 2" designation suggests an archival rather than artistic title, likely assigned to distinguish this work from similar compositions in a collection. Even without a definitive subject identification, the work belongs to Goyo's central project of creating a new kind of bijin-ga: one grounded in specific observation of real women rather than the idealized types of the ukiyo-e tradition.