Rain (Ame)

Jinbo Tomoyo

Woodcuts by Jinbo Tomoyo are scarce, but this is a fine example of his bijinga imagery, this from 1961.

A Geisha, dressed in a lilac colored kimono that includes metallic inks in the squares and stripes of the design, prepares to open her umbrella in anticipation of rain. She seems distant, lost in thought.

The Bijin-ga or bijin (Beautiful women) prints came to prominance and were coined as such during the Meiji period in the mid 19th century and continued into the Shin-hanga (new woodcut) of the 20th century.

"The movement flourished from around 1915 to 1942, though it resumed briefly from 1946 through the 1950s. Inspired by European Impressionism, the artists incorporated Western elements such as the effects of light and the expression of individual moods, but focused on strictly traditional themes of landscapes (fukeiga), famous places (meish?), beautiful women (bijinga), kabuki actors (yakusha-e), and birds-and-flowers (kach-e)." (Wikipedia).