A Collection of Pictures of Chignon Hairstyles (Kazura tsuke sokuhatsu zukai)

A woodblock-printed guide to hairstyles published in 1887, combining instruction in chignon and Western-influenced coiffure styles with Chikanobu's characteristic images of fashionable women. The Meiji era saw Japanese women experimenting with a range of hairstyles, from the elaborate traditional styles of the geisha world to Western-influenced arrangements introduced by women in contact with foreign communities. A guide to these styles documents a moment of genuine cultural transition, with beauty practice as one of its most visible expressions.