Before the Mirror

This young geisha has been caught in a private moment, absorbed in checking her hairstyle in front of a mirror. The volume of her figure and the depth of the image were intended to appeal to international audiences that preferred such realism. The print is inscribed with the word shihitsu (trial drawing), marking this work as the first collaboration between Itô Shinsui and the publisher Watanabe Shôzaburô, who had spotted the artist’s painting of this image and approached him as a partner.

The printer Ono Gintarô used the edge of his round, flat baren (a disk-shaped tool) to create swirling lines throughout the background. The rich red color that dominates this composition was achieved with natural dyes rather than the chemical-based aniline dyes favored in earlier prints from the Meiji period (1868–1912).