Beauty of the Kyoho Period

One of four prints in Kiyochika's bijin series representing the Kyoho period (1716–1736), this sheet depicts a woman in the distinctive fashions of the early eighteenth century, a moment associated with sumptuary legislation that paradoxically intensified sophistication in dress through subtle means. Kyoho-era bijin-ga, as established by Kaigetsudo Ando and Nishikawa Sukenobu, emphasized the sculptural weight of layered kimono and the elaborate shimada hairstyle, conventions Kiyochika draws upon while applying his own compositional sensibility. The second variant in the group is likely differentiated by the figure's gesture, the color of her outer garment, or the specific textile pattern — details that accumulate meaning when the four sheets are displayed as a coordinated set.