Heron Maiden
c. 1920-25
Nakamura Daizaburō 中村大三郎 (Japanese, 1898–1947)
Japan
The Heron Maiden (sagi musume) is a character from a popular Kabuki play in which a woodcutter saves a white heron, who returns to him in the form of a beautiful young woman. In this depiction of the figure, a doll-like young woman stands under a snow-covered willow tree. The artist added a fine dusting of white pigment to mimic falling snow and applied mica, a metallic mineral, to make the surface of the painting sparkle like a wintry night.
Hanging scroll; ink, colors, and gold on silk