Maiko

This second Maiko by Kato Shinmei treats the same Kyoto subject — an apprentice geisha — but as a separate composition within his bijin-ga output, suggesting a paired or sequential design as publishers commonly issued. Maiko prints distinguish themselves from senior geiko subjects through the trailing darari obi, the okobo footwear, and the seasonal floral kanzashi that change month by month, all elements that reward the carver's precision and the printer's careful color registration. Shin-hanga compositions of this type often place the figure against a flat tonal field so the printed kimono pattern carries the visual weight, with bokashi shading concentrated at the floor line or the upper background. Kato Shinmei's interest in figure subjects locates him within the cohort of shin-hanga designers — alongside Shinsui, Goyo, and Shuho — who continued the bijin-ga tradition under early twentieth-century publishers. The print was executed on washi by carvers and printers working from Kato's design under the standard collaborative model.