Making paper cords for tying hair

Date:: c. 1801/18
Medium:: Color woodblock print; ebangire, surimono
Format:: Oban
Source:

Typical Price

Later reprint or reproduction (20th-century): $50–$300
Good later impression (Edo-period): $1,000–$5,000
Good early impression (vivid color, legible detail): $5,000–$20,000
Fine early impression (exceptional color and condition): $20,000–$60,000

Hokusai's genre scenes, bijin-ga (beautiful women), and miscellaneous subjects represent the breadth of his career across more than seven decades. The market for non-landscape Hokusai prints has strengthened as collectors seek beyond the most famous designs.

Description

Women skilled in the craft of making paper cords (mizuhiki or similar) for binding and adorning hair are depicted at their work in this ebangire [surimono](/glossary/surimono) from around 1801–18. The elongated, non-standard format of the ebangire suits the horizontal arrangement of workers along a table or frame, and the subject places feminine craft labor within the luxury register of surimono printing commissioned by Edo's poetry societies.