Kijō saihō no zu (Picture of Noble Ladies Sewing)

Adachi Ginkō, artist

active 1874–1897

佐々木豊吉 Toyokichi Sasaki, publisher

Kijō saihō no zu (Picture of Noble Ladies Sewing), 1887, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: color woodcut; lacquer

Dimensions:
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 364 x 729 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 5/16 x 28 11/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 36 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Lucy Shaw Schultz Fund

Accession number: 2002.0135

Not on display

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This triptych features a sewing machine and Western-style clothing. Sewing machines were introduced to Japan in the 1870s and by the next decade Western dress was mandatory for most government employees, as is evident in the other two triptychs shown here. The women wear fashionable fabrics and designs, promoting the latest fashion through this print.

Ginkō was jailed in 1889 because he made a print satirizing the emperor that was published in a magazine. Though prints of political subject matter were now possible, he had evidently gone too far. For this offense he received a one-year sentence and a fine. Like many other print designers of his time he usually made actor prints and battle scenes of the Sino-Japanese war.