Yoshitoshi's - 32 Aspects of Women

I’m going to come right out and say it - women are fascinating, it’s true today and it was also true hundreds of years ago in Japan when artists like Harunobu, Utamaro, Kunisada, Kunichika, Yoshitoshi and others created series of prints themed around different types of women. Today we’ll be exploring one of the most famous bijin-ga (or beautiful women) print series. Yoshitoshi's (Fūzoku Sanjūnisō)  or "32 Aspects of Women".  

To begin, let’s dissect the title “32 Aspects of Women” 

What was special about the number 32? Japanese woodblock print publishers realized early on that it was good to produce a series of prints rather than individual one-off prints. A series of 12, 32, 36, or even 100 gives the artist the opportunity to create a variety of prints within a theme and it gets the customers excited to collect the next one in the series. 

The other reason for the number thirty two is that it represents the "32 signs of a Great Man"  these, are specific features that characterize a Buddha. For example, Long legs with thighs like an antelope. is one of buddha’s characteristics. So this 32 was a handy number that had some cultural significance.

Portrait of Yoshitoshi (above) and frontispiece for the "32 Aspects of Women" series.

Let’s touch on our artist, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. Yoshitoshi has been called the last creative genius of woodblock prints. He is best known for designs of Japan's legendary past, for violent and bloody prints, and for prints of beautiful women. So he has quite an artistic range. Yoshitoshi did have a lot of experience with women, in that he was married a couple of times, and frequented the courtesans and geisha in the red light district. If you want to learn more please check out our video on “Who was Yoshitoshi”.

This series of 32 prints was published by Tsunashima Kamekichi in 1888. It depicts a chronological survey of women from different backgrounds from 1789- 1912. These are not only beautiful women but each represent a particular mood, type or character trait. The women are more individualized rather than the traditional stylized images of women. 

Below is a print from the series called “Relaxed” the appearance of a Kyoto geisha, let’s dissect it so you know what’s what.

There is a vertical brown cartouche in the upper right corner, displaying the series' title, and next to it a square box with the design's title. Notice the wood grain design on the brown series title. Apparently it was made by soaking wood to bring out the woodgrain pattern, then the wood was used as a printing block, to give this realistic effect. 

On the left side of this print we can see Yoshitoshi's signature and red seal below it. Next to it, a square box with publishing information, and a smaller box under that containing the woodblock carvers name. This was a very popular series, so there were several editions made. An easy way to tell them apart is to look at the colored cartouche with the print title in it. The first edition will have three diagonal colors, the second contains two colors, while the third edition is a plain brown-gray color.

Now we’re not going to see all 32 prints, but I’ll show you six of my favorites, starting with this erotic looking one called

“Painful” The appearance of a prostitute of the Kansei era.

There’s a lot to unpack here but first let’s admire Yoshitoshi’s artistry, and the skill of the block carver. All hail the carver for this series Wada hori Yu! You can see the detail in the hair style, the thin hairs around her face, and even her eyelashes - amazingly precise carving. And look at the gorgeous, complex kimono design, and the design on the cloth she’s biting. In this print she is probably biting the cloth to help manage the pain of the tattoo, but the image of a woman biting a cloth or tissue is also common in shunga, pornographic prints where it designates erotic passion. We think that she is getting her lover’s name tattooed on her arm. As you can imagine, this is one of the more popular prints in the series.

Next, let’s have a look at this print called “Smokey” the appearance of a housewife of the Kyowa era. 

You might think the smoke is from her cooking but it’s actually from a plant that was burned to repel insects. This is really an exciting design, the way the smoke billows and curls in front of her. Look at the translucency as it wafts over her fan and yukata - which is a casual cotton kimono you would probably wear at home. The yukata has a simple diamond flower pattern but even though it’s simple, can you imagine carving it into a cherry woodblock?

This next print is titled “Heavy” the appearance of a Fukagawa waitress in the Tempo era. 

This is a waitress probably working in the pleasure district. She’s carrying a large, heavy tray of food that includes sashimi, beans and rice. She looks a bit stressed and frazzled, her kimono is rumpled, and once again look at the complex detail in the patterns and layers of her clothes.

This sensual print is titled “Itchy” the appearance of a kept woman of the Kaei era. 

This woman is probably supported by some rich patron or benefactor. We are seeing her first thing in the morning when she’s coming out of the mosquito netting that covered her futon. Her hair is messy, the comb almost falling out. She’s pulling on her yukata, Notice how different the fabrics look, the stiff appearance of the netting, versus the soft folds in her yukata. One other thing to note is that the skin of the women in this series were left unprinted, so we’re just seeing the white of the paper, Yoshitoshi did use some light pink around the eyes to make the complexion look more warm and realistic. 

Next we have “Hot” the appearance of a wealthy housewife from the Bunsei era.

She’s kneeling down, and using a box for support while someone lights medicine called “moxa” on her back. This practice is similar to accupuncture and like accupuncture, it hurts, in fact this practice would often leave scars. That said, this is also considered a very erotic print due to the fact that she’s gazing straight at us, and her neck and back are exposed. It’s really quite an amazing composition.

This is such a fun design, it’s called “Delighted” the apperance of a geisha during the Meiji era. 

She has just caught a firefly by knocking it out of the air with her fan. She’s holding the fan in her mouth and wondering what to do with her prisoner. Firefly parties or Hotarugari were popular events in the summer. We can see the wind is blowing both her hair and her thin summer kimono sleeves. The kimono is made of silk and we can see her arm through the fabric.  This can also be seen as a sensual image since we can see the nape of her neck, we can see her arm through the kimono, and she’s holding something in her teeth. Side note, one of the Japanese verbs I wish we had in english is Kuwaeru which literally means to hold something in your mouth. It seems like such a useful word. 

I was trying to limit myself to six prints but this series has so many beautiful designs, let’s look at one more. This is I think my favorite print in the series.

It’s called “Dark” the appearance of a wife during the Meiji era. 

The background of this print is more fully developed and it really helps establish this common scene of a woman, a wife, lighting an oil lamp in the evening. It’s an intimate, quiet design. This is the only print in the series that the woman’s face is in profile. There’s a warmth and softness, not only because of the lamp flame, and her expression, but also the color palette of the Yukata that’s falling off her shoulder, and the organic colors of the table, and box. 

You’ll have to peruse the other print designs on your own. I really recommend this book by John Stevenson called Yoshitoshi’s Women. It describes all the prints in the series and is well worth the price. Yoshitoshi produced this series at the pinnacle of his artistic career. Although he approached the series from a male perspective, I think he also approached it with realism, and sensitivity.