$1,500–$12,000. Common subjects: $1,500–$4,000. Key value factors: Shimura's refined bijin-ga have a devoted collector base. Earlier prints and rarer subjects command premiums.
Dated 1953, this [oban](/glossary/oban) woodblock print shows a woman examining her reflection in a mirror while wearing the marumage hairstyle, a rounded coiffure traditionally associated with married women. The seasonal subtitle "Natsu" (Summer) places the scene in the hot months, when the weight and formality of the marumage would have been particularly felt. Shimura Tatsumi depicts the private moment of checking one's appearance, the mirror creating a doubled image that allows the viewer to see both the woman and her reflected self. The composition explores the gap between the self that looks and the self that is seen, a theme that runs throughout Shimura's work.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Reflection in a Mirror- Marumage — Marumage (Natsu) was created by Shimura Tatsumi (志村立美) in 1953.
Reflection in a Mirror- Marumage — Marumage (Natsu) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1953).
Reflection in a Mirror- Marumage — Marumage (Natsu) depicts figures, bijin-ga, and summer.
