Peony Hat (Botan-gasa), from the series Beauties Matched with Flowers (Bijin hana kurabe)
by Ogata Gekko
- Series:
- Beauties Matched with Flowers
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
by Ogata Gekko
From the series Bijin hana kurabe (Beauties Matched with Flowers), this print pairs a standing or seated bijin with the peony (botan), one of the most auspicious flowers in East Asian visual culture. The title Botan-gasa (Peony Hat) suggests the woman wears or carries a broad-brimmed hat decorated with or associated with peony imagery, a poetic conceit linking her appearance to the flower's opulent, layered form. Series that matched beauties to flowers were a well-established genre, allowing artists to exploit both the decorative appeal of women's kimono and the coloristic possibilities of flower subjects within a single composition. Gekko's treatment would emphasize the visual rhyme between the peony's full petals and the rounded forms of the kimono's patterned fabric, printed with careful [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations in the blossom areas.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Peony Hat (Botan-gasa), from the series Beauties Matched with Flowers (Bijin hana kurabe) was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).
Yes — Peony Hat (Botan-gasa), from the series Beauties Matched with Flowers (Bijin hana kurabe) is part of the Beauties Matched with Flowers series by Ogata Gekko.
Peony Hat (Botan-gasa), from the series Beauties Matched with Flowers (Bijin hana kurabe) depicts birds & flowers and bijin-ga.
