Kakemono Woman with Rice Straw Hat

Beneath a wide, green woven rice straw hat with striking red ribbons, a young woman gazes thoughtfully to the side. Her dark cloak bears large white characters that suggest a festive or artistic disguise, while a red neckband and the elegant drapery of the robe lend the depiction a theatrical, almost narrative quality.

The hand-painting was created on fine silk and dates from the Shôwa period; the clear contours and the bold, flat coloring recall the decorative pictorial language of the bijin-ga tradition, which frequently depicts women in special attire or roles, thus departing from the familiar type of woman in a simple kimono.

With its unusual, narratively charged pictorial composition, this kakemono stands out from classical portrait depictions and is well suited as a striking eye-catcher in the tokonoma or in a Japanese-inspired living space. For collectors of Japanese depictions of women with a distinctive motif, this hand-painted unique work is an appealing find.