Kitagawa Utamaro – 喜多川歌麿 (c. 1753-1806) – Ohisa of the Takashima Tea-Shop – 高島屋おひさ

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Ohisa was such a fashionable beauty and beloved public figure as the manager of her father’s flagship location, that Utamaro immortalized her with his brush and sent her into the public’s hands as this stunning woodblock print with exquisitely balanced colours and an elegant use of reflective mica pigments. Besides showing her poise and grace, the more important thing conveyed to those who purchased this piece (at that time, the same price as a bowl of steaming noodles) was its status as a fashion plate. Ohisa’s hairstyle, hair accessories, make-up and wardrobe were the talk of thousands of ladies who poured over every last detail of this piece. Her father, being able to afford the best for his daughter, allowed her to help set the fashion of the day, and this is one of the ways it spread through the general population. Utamaro’s work had a great influence on the artists of France, and is an early example of pages that would come to exist in the fashion magazines that would begin to gain popularity around the world over 100 years later.

The poem reads: “Charms and tea are brimming over and neither gets cold! Let me not wake from this lucky dream of the New Year At Takashimaya.” Excellent condition. Expertly hand-printed one colour at a time. Rich saturation into high quality washi paper (see last picture). Gorgeous details and relfective mica pigments.

9″ × 13″ – Price includes shipping worldwide! All prices in Canadian dollars. Comes with 3 hours worth of further reading and documentary viewing!