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 in a black kimono ties her sash, the dark fabric providing a dramatic ground for the composition. The November 1929 date places this in Kotondo's final sustained period of bijin-ga production. The sash (obi) was among the most elaborate elements of traditional women's dress — its tying a skilled procedure that required practice and patience — and Kotondo renders the act with the attentiveness he brought to all feminine gestures, finding in the mundane ritual a moment of particular concentrated form.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Sash(black kimino version) was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in November 1929.
Sash(black kimino version) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (November 1929).
Sash(black kimino version) depicts figures, bijin-ga, and daily life.
