The Diving Woman of Shido Bay

Date:: c. 1882
Medium:: Preparatory drawing for a print, ink on paper
Format:: Oban
Dimensions:: 19.1 × 26.2 cm
Source:: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Typical Price

Fine beauty print from late Meiji career in excellent condition: $1,000–$5,000
Good condition beauty subject: $400–$1,500
Standard impression: $200–$600

Description

"The Diving Woman of Shido Bay" (circa 1882) is a preparatory drawing depicting an ama—a female pearl or abalone diver—in the tradition of subjects drawn from coastal Japan's diving culture. The ama were celebrated in Japanese visual culture for their extraordinary physical courage and their semi-naked appearance while diving, which made them simultaneously practical workers and subjects of erotic fascination. Yoshitoshi's preliminary ink drawing captures the diver in motion, her form suggesting both the technical challenges of underwater work and the mythological associations of women who inhabited the boundary between sea and air.

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 Landscapes Prints

Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"

Wakasa Kugushiko

1920

Color woodblock print; oban

Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)

Woodblock print

The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"

1934

Color woodblock print; oban

Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)

n.d.

Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Mount Fuji in Japanese Woodblock Prints Meisho-e: Famous-Place Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

The Diving Woman of Shido Bay was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in c. 1882.

The Diving Woman of Shido Bay depicts landscapes and seascapes.

The Diving Woman of Shido Bay measures 19.1 × 26.2 cm (Oban format).