Marumage hairstyle

Marumage hairstyle takes as its subject the rounded chignon worn historically by married women of the merchant and samurai classes, recognized by its smooth oval crown of hair gathered over a padded form and ornamented with kanzashi. By titling the print after the coiffure rather than a named figure, Shimura Tatsumi signals that the image is a study of type and grooming, in the manner of earlier Edo-period [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) that catalogued hairstyles as social markers. The composition would typically present the sitter from a three-quarter or rear angle so that the marumage reads clearly, with the nape (eri-ashi) exposed by a slightly drawn-down kimono collar — a convention long associated with feminine elegance in Japanese print culture. The block carving required for such a subject is exacting, since the form depends on hairline keyblock work and a flat [sumi](/glossary/sumi) black printed without bleed. Within Shimura's output, the print belongs to a strand of work in which traditional dress and hairstyle, rather than narrative, supply the entire content.