There were geisha in my Christmas stocking!

This woodblock print by Utamaro, a Christmas gift from my husband, is the latest addition to my collection. It is from the series of four entitled Seirô niwaka onna geisha no bu (Female Geisha from the Yoshiwara Niwaka Festival), which was published by Tsuruya Kiemon in 1793, and depicts three female geisha who are dressed for the Niwaka Festival in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, arranged in a pyramidal composition and set against a dark grey mica ground. The woman on the right represents a folding fan seller, the one on the left, carrying a bamboo pole over her shoulder, represents a round fan seller, and the woman in the centre, who is dressed as a farm worker and is wearing a protective cloth around her hair and carrying a large wooden pestle, is a barley pounder. Written upon the folding fan of the woman on the right is the character 'mina' which is most likely an indication of the geisha's name. In 1793 a law was passed forbidding the identification of women, other than prostitutes, by the inclusion of their names on woodblock prints, and the use of the character 'mina' on the geisha's fan may have been an attempt by Utamaro to circumvent that restriction.

This set has always been one of my favourites, as I'm fond of all of Utamaro's Niwaka prints. Throughout the various series I find the colourful and elaborate costumes and the arrangement of the figures to be very appealing indeed.

And now I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all fellow art lovers out there all things wonderful for the festive season, and good health and happiness for the coming New Year.