Chinese Lady

Created between approximately 1912 and 1914, this woodblock print portrays a Chinese woman in a composition that reflects Yamamoto's interest in depicting people from the countries he encountered during his years abroad. The figure is rendered with a simplicity that strips away decorative excess, focusing on posture, clothing, and facial expression as carriers of cultural identity. Yamamoto's approach to portraiture differs markedly from the idealized beauties of the ukiyo-e tradition; he treated his subjects as individuals observed from life rather than types drawn from convention. The print belongs to a group of works depicting women from various Asian and European cultures, forming an informal ethnographic record filtered through the sosaku-hanga ethic of direct, personal printmaking.