A backward glance beneath a crown of hairpins

A woman glances down over her shoulder, her towering black coiffure bristling with long ornamental hairpins. She wears a dark outer kimono patterned with small crests over a red under-robe printed with fans, tied with an orange obi patterned with white roundels, and holds a folded paper in one hand against a plain yellow ground. The signature and a censor's diamond seal sit at left, and a cartouche at upper right names her, Hanazuma of Hyogoya, within the series title.

Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753–1806) defined the ukiyo-e portrait of women. Working with the publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō in the 1790s, he introduced the ōkubi-e, or large-head print, which brought the viewer close enough to read a glance or a gesture, and he gave the beauties of the Yoshiwara district individual faces and names. Mica grounds, transparent textiles and fine line work made his prints the most refined of their day. His work is held by the British Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.