Two Japanese women - Akashi

Akashi here likely refers to akashi chijimi, a fine silk crepe summer kimono fabric originally produced in Akashi, in present-day Hyogo prefecture. Akashi chijimi is woven with a strong twist that produces a slightly textured surface, suited to the heat of Japanese summers and recognisable in prints by its matte, slightly translucent rendering. A bijin-ga print bearing this title thus signals a summer subject, likely depicting two women in akashi chijimi kimono, perhaps with under-robes visible at the collar. Mokuhanga is well suited to capturing such fabrics: the flat colour blocks of the printer's palette can be modulated through bokashi to suggest the dappled translucency of summer cloth. Within Shimura's wider practice, the print continues a sustained interest in seasonal kimono — winter snow, summer chijimi, autumn excursion — that gave his bijin-ga the rhythm of the Japanese year while sustaining the restraint of his mature style.