Beauty of the Enpo Period

A third variant in Kiyochika's Enpo period bijin series, this print depicts a standing or seated female figure in the characteristic dress of the 1673–1681 era. Within a set of four prints sharing the same title, individual sheets are distinguished by the specific arrangement of the kimono, the gesture or orientation of the figure, or the coloring of the textile patterns. Kiyochika's approach to historical bijin-ga draws on the Utagawa school tradition while incorporating the more naturalistic treatment of volume and shadow that his study of Western illustration influenced. The relatively subdued palette associated with pre-Genroku fashions may lend this print a visual restraint distinguishing it from the more coloristically elaborate Kyoho-period bijin that form the companion series.