Rouge

This second print titled Rouge likely represents either an alternate state or a separate composition within the same toilette theme. In mokuhanga production, repeated subjects could result from the artist returning to a successful design or from a publisher commissioning a related composition for a series. The two might differ in pose—one showing the moment before application, the other after—or in surrounding detail such as the placement of mirror, brush, or kimono. Where one version focuses on the moment of application, the alternate may emphasize the figure's expression once the rouge is in place, or shift the framing to a closer view of the face. Technically, the print would rely on the vocabulary of carefully registered color blocks and [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) tonal transitions that defines [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) of this period. Considering this print alongside the related sheet underscores how Taki Shusui, like other early twentieth-century printmakers, appears to have engaged repeatedly with the established conventions of the toilette scene rather than treating each subject as a single image.