A bijin print depicting a beautiful woman holding a ball — a refined social accessory suggesting the world of indoor entertainment — from one of Chikanobu's series of elegant feminine subjects. The bijin with a decorative ball or temari (embroidered thread ball) was a conventional composition in the Meiji [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) tradition, the ball serving as both compositional accessory and symbol of graceful leisure. Chikanobu's version brings the characteristic Meiji-era interest in elegant women's dress and social amusements to a subject with long roots in the bijin-ga tradition.
Meiji period, dated October 10, 1896
Woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
A beauty holding a ball, from was created by Toyohara Chikanobu (豊原周延).
A beauty holding a ball, from depicts bijin-ga.
