Young Woman Hanging a Mosquito Net

Young Woman Hanging a Mosquito Net, a circa 1770 woodblock print by Isoda Koryusai, transforms a thoroughly ordinary midsummer chore into one of the most evocative compositions in the Edo bijin-ga tradition. Mosquito nets, kaya in Japanese, were essential equipment in any urban household during the humid Tokyo summer, hung from the ceiling each evening over the sleeping mats to protect the body from biting insects. Koryusai depicts a young woman in the act of tying or stretching the net into place, her arms raised overhead and her kimono pulled taut across her shoulders by the gesture. The pose lets him exploit the long line from wrist to ankle that defines his bijin figures, and the diaphanous green hemp of the net itself provides a translucent veil through which the body's contour can be read as if through water. The seasonal subject carries its own emotional register, evoking the languor of the summer night and the small domestic rituals that punctuate it. Koryusai's draftsmanship balances the precise architecture of the net's grid against the soft drape of the figure's robes, and the muted palette of greens, ochres, and pale flesh tones contributes to the atmosphere of tactile coolness. The print belongs to the body of work that prepared the way for his celebrated Yoshiwara fashion series Hinagata Wakana no Hatsu Moyo. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves this impression.