Women Examining Paintings

In Edo period Japan (1603–1867), unlike in contemporaneous China, women were portrayed reading poetry or appreciating artworks more often than men. One reason is that bijinga, or “pictures of beautiful women,” were ubiquitous among the artworks produced at the time, which were referred to as ukiyo-e, “pictures of the floating world.” Another reason is that the women depicted were usually well-educated courtesans, as shown in this print. Courtesans were expected to demonstrate their artistic talent and connoisseurship as a way of attracting clients. Courtesans were often both beautiful and talented; they enjoyed a respected celebrity status and a degree of independence. An artistic lifestyle was thus regarded as one of the crucial indications of ideal womanhood, although only a small percentage of the female population was literate, and women were excluded from the guilds of professional painters.- Chi-Lynn Lin, "Echoing Overseas" label text, Fall 2022