About This Print
From an album of twelve prints, this print one of four woodblock prints in the album, depicts two geisha with their distinctive white makeup holding a lantern under a dark blue night sky. Each of the four woodblock prints in the album is likely an original design by Kiyokata for the album.
This makeup has an interesting history. Originally it was worn by male aristocrats when they had an audience with the emperor. In premodern times the emperor, considered a sacred presence, received his subjects while hidden from their sight by a thin scrim. The audience chamber was lit by candlelight. The white makeup reflected whatever light there was, making it easier for the emperor to distinguish who was who.
Dancers and actors later took up the practice. Not only does the white makeup look well on stage, but it also echoes the value placed on light skin.1
The Artist's Notes
The album includes explanations in Japanese by Kiyokata about his intentions and drawing techniques for each of the prints. His notes on this print are reproduced below.
click on image to enlarge
About the Album of Beauties by Kiyokata 清方美人画譜, 1914
This album of twelve small prints, four woodblock prints and eight three-color collotypes, was issued in May 1914 by Nihon Bijutsu Gakuin 日本美術学院, the correspondence fine arts school founded by the novelist Taguchi Kikutei (1875-1943) (the pen name of Taguchi Kyōjirō), and for which Kiyokata taught.
For detailed information on the album see this collection's print Dormitory in Spring Rain from the Album of Beauties by Kyokata.
1 Geisha: A Life, Mineko Iwasaki, Washington Square Press, 2002, p. 141.
| IHL Catalog | #1816 | |||
| Title or Description |  靑き星 | |||
| Series | Album of Beauties by Kiyokata 清方美人画譜 Kiyokata bijin gafu | |||
| Artist | Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1972) | |||
| Signature |  | |||
| Seal | | |||
| Publication Date |  Published May 5, 1914 大正三年五月五日發行 [as shown in the colophon to the album] | |||
| Edition | first and only | |||
| Publisher |
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| Printer |
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| Impression | excellent | |||
| Colors | excellent | |||
| Condition | excellent | |||
| Miscellaneous | | |||
| Genre | shin hanga (new prints) | |||
| Format | chuban | |||
| H x W Paper | 7 3/4 x 5 3/16 in. (19.7 x 13.2 cm) | |||
| H x W Image | 7 3/8 x 4 13/16 in. (18.7 x 12.2 cm) | |||
| Collections This Print | Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery S2003.8.400 and FSC-GR-780.134; British Museum 1991,0805,0.18; National Diet Library Call No. 109-280 | |||
| Reference Literature |
copied from colophon
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