Young man arranging irises in a vase

A hashira-e (pillar print) showing a young man arranging irises in a tall vase, a subject that blends seasonal flower appreciation with the gentle eroticism of the wakashu (beautiful young man) tradition. The hashira-e format, an extreme vertical shape originally intended to be displayed on the lacquered pillars of merchant homes, demanded that designers solve difficult compositional problems within a narrow column, and Toyohiro handles the constraint with his usual restraint. The figure is elongated to fit the tall format, the arrangement of iris blooms is staggered down the page, and a single accent of color anchors the composition. Iris, associated with the fifth-month Boys' Festival, also carries connotations of male elegance, and the pairing of subject and flower is no accident. The Art Institute of Chicago's impression is a clean example of Toyohiro's facility in this difficult format, which he returned to throughout his career.