Applying Powder

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.