Painful (Itaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)"

Series:: Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)
Date:: 1888
Medium:: Color woodblock print; oban
Format:: Oban
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Scarce or exceptional Yoshitoshi composition in fine condition: $1,500–$8,000
Good condition print: $400–$1,500
Later impression or common subject: $200–$600

Description

"Painful" (Itaso, 1888) from the "Thirty-two Aspects of Women" series presents a woman in evident physical discomfort—possibly a toothache or headache—her expression registering the unguarded reality of everyday suffering. The willingness to depict pain and discomfort as legitimate subjects for [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) is characteristic of Yoshitoshi's subversive approach to the genre, which traditionally celebrated female beauty in decorative terms. By including "painful" among his thirty-two aspects, he insisted that the full range of embodied experience was worthy of artistic attention.

More Prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Shunkan Watching Enviously from Kikai Island as Yasuyori Returns to the Capitol after Being Unexpectedly Pardoned (Shunkan sozu Kikaigashima ni oite tamatama Yasuyori no shamen senbo kito no zu)

Looking as if She Wants to Go for a Walk: The Fashion of a Married Woman of the Meiji Era (Yūho ga shitasō, Meiji nenkan saikun no fūzoku), from the series Thirty-two Appearances of Fashion (Fūzoku sanjūni sō)

Slovenly (Shidaranasaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)"

1888

Color woodblock print; oban

Four PM, from the series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi"

n.d.

Color woodblock print

More Figures Prints

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

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

Woodblock print

Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962

Woodblock print

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Bijin-ga: Japanese Beauty Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Painful (Itaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)" was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in 1888.

Yes — Painful (Itaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)" is part of the Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso) series by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

Painful (Itaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)" depicts figures, bijin-ga, and portraits.