Hanga
Woman Seated on a Pillow Reading a Letter While a Cat Sleeps Behind Her, Taishô period, dated 1918 (9th month of Taishô 9) by Hashiguchi Goyo — Japanese Woodblock print, Taishô period, 1912-1926

Woman Seated on a Pillow Reading a Letter While a Cat Sleeps Behind Her, Taishô period, dated 1918 (9th month of Taishô 9)

by Hashiguchi Goyo

Shin-hanga
AnimalsCats
Date:
Taishô period, 1912-1926
Medium:
Woodblock print
Format:
Oban
Edition:
Published by Watanabe Shozaburo

Description

A woman seated on a cushion reading a letter while a cat sleeps peacefully behind her — one of Goyo's most psychologically layered compositions, the letter-reading figure absorbed in private communication while the oblivious cat provides a counterpoint of comfortable unconsciousness. The sleeping cat was a motif Goyo used with deliberate effect: cats sleep with complete self-abandonment, and their presence in compositions of feminine interiority creates an atmosphere of safety and domestic ease. From the ninth month of Taisho 9 (1920).

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Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Cat Prints in Japanese WoodblockShin-Hanga: Japan's Twentieth-Century Print Revival

Frequently Asked Questions

Woman Seated on a Pillow Reading a Letter While a Cat Sleeps Behind Her, Taishô period, dated 1918 (9th month of Taishô 9) was created by Hashiguchi Goyo (橋口五葉) in Taishô period, 1912-1926.

Woman Seated on a Pillow Reading a Letter While a Cat Sleeps Behind Her, Taishô period, dated 1918 (9th month of Taishô 9) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (Taishô period, 1912-1926).

Woman Seated on a Pillow Reading a Letter While a Cat Sleeps Behind Her, Taishô period, dated 1918 (9th month of Taishô 9) depicts animals and cats.