Stepmother

A narrative bijin-ga with an explicitly literary or dramatic subject, the title referencing a stock figure in Meiji and Taisho popular fiction — the stepmother as antagonist or morally complex domestic presence. Eiho's dual career as a novel illustrator and print designer made him unusual among bijin-ga artists in his willingness to invest female figures with specific narrative roles; this print likely depicts the stepmother in a charged domestic moment, her expression or posture signaling psychological complexity rather than simple beauty. The figure's costume, the interior setting, and any secondary props would work together to convey social position and emotional state in the manner Eiho had refined across thousands of literary illustrations.