Woman with Sash

A woman with a sash — her obi being tied or adjusted, the complex silk band that was simultaneously the most visible and the most technically demanding element of the kimono ensemble — depicted in a posthumous 1920 edition of one of Goyo's late compositions. The obi's arrangement determined much of the kimono's silhouette and carried encoded information about the wearer's age, marital status, and social role through the specific knot employed. Goyo's woman adjusting her sash is engaged in a practice dense with social meaning, rendered with his characteristic physical directness.