Woman Powdering, Taishô period, dated 1918

A woman applying powder — one of Goyo's 1918 bijin-ga subjects from the Taisho period, depicting the act of cosmetic preparation in the characteristically direct, observational mode he brought to all his feminine subjects. The powdering process, requiring a brush or pad and careful attention to coverage and consistency, gave Goyo a subject that combined the visible beauty of the result with the interesting process of its production. The Taisho period setting (1912–1926) confirms this work's place in the shin-hanga tradition.