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 lipstick, her lips pursed in concentration as she performs the intimate ritual of cosmetic preparation. The Japanese title Kuchibeni — literally "mouth red" — names the cosmetic itself, directing attention to the sensory quality of the act: the precise application of color to lips. The subject is among Kotondo's most iconic, repeated in slight variations across his small oeuvre, each version finding a different quality of absorption, a different angle of light.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Lipstick - 口紅 was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in 1932.
Lipstick - 口紅 was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1932).
Lipstick - 口紅 depicts figures, bijin-ga, and portraits.
