Lady in Western Costume

A woman in Western dress—a modern suit, coat, or dress of European cut rather than the kimono that dominates Shinsui's typical bijin-ga work—is shown in this undated print. The "Lady in Western Costume" subject appeared throughout the Taisho and early Showa periods as Japanese women increasingly adopted elements of Western dress, and printmakers documented this cultural shift with varying degrees of approval or ambivalence. Shinsui's treatment, characteristically, is more curious than judgmental—he observes the phenomenon with the same careful attention he brings to kimono.