Before the Mirror

Published in January 1932, this oban woodblock print in ink and color on paper shows a woman positioned before a mirror, engaged in the act of grooming or self-contemplation. Mirrors in Japanese bijin-ga prints serve a dual compositional purpose: they reveal the subject's face when she is turned away from the viewer, and they introduce a second image within the image, creating spatial complexity in what might otherwise be a simple portrait. Hirano Hakuho uses the mirror scene to show both the woman's figure and her reflected face, allowing the viewer to see her from two angles simultaneously. The January 1932 publication date matches "After Bath," suggesting these two prints may have been released as a pair or in the same monthly group. Together, the bathing and mirror scenes construct a narrative sequence: the woman bathes, then attends to her appearance before the mirror.