On the Road, A Lady of the Genkō Era (1313-34), from the series Thirty-Six Elegant Selections
1894
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1894
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A woman in elegant Heian-era robes walks on a country road, holding a fan. Tall grass and trees frame her quiet path. She looks calm, apart from the world. This print is part of a series showing women from different times in Japanese history. Though set in the distant Genkō era (1313–1334), it was made in 1894, during the Meiji period. At that time, Japan was rapidly modernizing, yet artists like Mizuno Toshikata still looked to the past. He once studied under Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, a leading figure in late Edo printmaking. Look up the meiji period (1868–1912) to understand the world in which this image was created. (Word count: 112)
