Goyo completed only 14 woodblock print designs before his death in 1921, making every genuine impression extraordinarily rare. His bijin-ga are among the most refined of the entire shin-hanga movement. "Woman at the Bath" achieved $40,075 at Bonhams New York in 2020; Sotheby's estimates of $15,000–$25,000 are typical for top examples.
A woman holding a hand mirror — one of the most psychologically rich subjects in Goyo's bijin-ga, the mirror introducing a doubling: we see the woman's face and simultaneously imagine its reflection, the image within the image. The hand mirror (kagami) had a long history in Japanese feminine iconography, associated with the sun goddess Amaterasu and with feminine self-knowledge, and Goyo's rendering of a woman examining her own face in a mirror carries these associations while remaining firmly grounded in the physical reality of the specific woman depicted.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Hand Mirror was created by Hashiguchi Goyo (橋口五葉) in 1920.
Hand Mirror was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1920).
Hand Mirror depicts figures, bijin-ga, and portraits.
