Bijin and Umbrella

Bijin and Umbrella, documented through the [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e).org archive, returns to one of the most beloved motifs in the [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) tradition: a young woman beneath the curve of a parasol or oilpaper umbrella. The umbrella had been a staple of ukiyo-e since the eighteenth century, providing both a framing device and an opportunity for the printer to display rich color and pattern. Tomioka Eisen's Meiji-era treatment of the motif reflects his absorption of late Edo bijin conventions while carrying the genre into the new century. The umbrella also performs a compositional function familiar from the work of Hokusai and Hiroshige, drawing the eye and giving the print a strong silhouette that would have read clearly even at small scale, an important consideration for [kuchi-e](/glossary/kuchi-e) and other book illustration.