Empress Komyo (Komyoko), from the series "Three Beautiful Women (San bijin)"

From his circa 1820 series Three Beautiful Women, Shinsai's depiction of Empress Komyo (Komyoko) anchors the print in one of the most revered figures in early Japanese Buddhism. Komyo (701-760), consort of Emperor Shomu and a major patron of Buddhist institutions, became a touchstone for later Japanese tradition as a model of female piety and beauty. The [surimono](/glossary/surimono) format allowed Shinsai to dress a courtly subject in the textile patterning and surface refinement of contemporary deluxe printing, the imperial subject elevated by the medium itself. The series concept—pairing three female figures across history and legend—is a typical mitate-e structure, and the print likely circulated with poems linking Komyo to a contemporary kyoka theme. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves the impression.