Two loose-haired women in coral kimono carry a salt-gathering yoke

Two young women with long unbound hair stand close together beneath a yellow wooden yoke used for carrying salt buckets, its yellow cords falling to a bucket at lower right. Both wear coral-pink kimono printed with cherry blossoms, one over a teal underlayer, with dark blossom-patterned outer robes. The taller figure wears a broad gold comb and long pins. A cartouche at upper right names the series; Utamaro's signature appears at left.

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.