Kotondo is best known for bijin-ga, but his complete oeuvre includes actor prints and other figure subjects. His small corpus of only 21 designs ensures that all authenticated period impressions carry collector interest and scarcity premiums.
A woman applies white powder to her face, the cosmetic brush held delicately before a mirror. Kotondo enriches the background with mica powder, which creates a subtle luminosity behind the figure, giving her act of self-adornment an almost ceremonial quality. The summer date suggests the powder may serve as much to cool and freshen the skin as to prepare for public appearance — in the heat of a Japanese summer, the toilette becomes a practical ritual as much as an aesthetic one.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Applying Powder was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in Summer 1930.
Applying Powder was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (Summer 1930).
Applying Powder depicts figures, bijin-ga, and portraits.
Applying Powder measures 41 × 26.4 cm (Oban format).
