Kakemono Lady in Kimono by the Garden Pond

In quiet absorption, a young woman in a magnificent, flower-patterned kimono leans over a dark stone at the edge of a garden pond. Her gaze is directed downward, her posture at once focused and graceful. In the background, soft wisps of mist rise, between which bamboo and autumn-colored branches with brilliant red leaves can be discerned – a scene that radiates both intimacy and closeness to nature.

The depiction follows the tradition of Bijinga, the painting of beautiful women, which has ranked among the most important genres of Japanese painting since the Edo period. Particular care is given here to the kimono, whose pattern is rendered in fine detail, as well as to the delicate modeling of face and hands, which lend the work an almost portrait-like vividness.

Created in the Showa period, painted on silk and mounted in a subtly patterned fabric border with a wooden jikusaki, this hand-painted unique work is complemented by a signed wooden box that underscores its collectible character.