Hanga
Lip Rouge by Torii Kotondo — Japanese Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica, January 1932

Lip Rouge

by Torii Kotondo

Shin-hanga
FiguresBijin-gaPortraits
Date:
January 1932
Medium:
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
Format:
Oban
Dimensions:
40.8 × 25.7 cm
Edition:
Published by Watanabe Shozaburo

Description

A woman applies rouge to her lips, her gaze directed toward a hand mirror. Kotondo enriches the surface with powdered mica, creating the shimmering background associated with his most technically refined prints. The January 1932 date places this among the late masterworks of his active bijin-ga period, a phase that produced only a handful of subjects before his output essentially ceased. The mica ground elevates the intimate gesture of lip rouge into something luminous.

More Prints by Torii Kotondo

Yuki (Snow) by Torii Kotondo

Yuki (Snow)

1929

Japanese Color Woodblock Print on handmade paper

Undergarment (Variant State) by Torii Kotondo

Undergarment (Variant State)

1929

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Snow (Yuki) by Torii Kotondo

Snow (Yuki)

1929

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Sash- Obi- V1 by Torii Kotondo

Sash- Obi- V1

1929

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More Figures Prints

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965? by Hideo Hagiwara

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

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Celebrating the Good Harvest: Felicitations for a Thousand Ages (Nôhônen, Chiyo no kotobuki) by Kawanabe Kyosai

Celebrating the Good Harvest: Felicitations for a Thousand Ages (Nôhônen, Chiyo no kotobuki)

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Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965? by Hideo Hagiwara

Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

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Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962 by Kihei Sasajima

Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962

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Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Shin-Hanga: Japan's Twentieth-Century Print RevivalBijin-ga: Japanese Beauty Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Lip Rouge was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in January 1932.

Lip Rouge was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (January 1932).

Lip Rouge depicts figures, bijin-ga, and portraits.

Lip Rouge measures 40.8 × 25.7 cm (Oban format).