白拍子舞者 - 三十六美人选集 - 日本木版画 - Mizuno Toshikata (1866-1908) - 日本 - 明治時期（1868-1912）

Artist: Mizuno Toshikata (水野年方, 1866–1908)
Title: Shirabyōshi Dancer — Woman of the Kenkyū Era (白拍子 建久頃婦人)
Series: Thirty-six Selected Beauties (Sanjūroku Kasen)
Date: 1891–1894
Technique: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Format: Ōban, approx. 36 × 24 cm

Condition: Very good impression with fresh, vibrant colours. Light toning to paper, some soiling. Please refer to the images for full condition details.

About the print:

A shirabyōshi dancer sits on the broad wooden veranda of a warrior residence, cradling a small tsuzumi (鼓) hourglass drum on her lap. Her long black hair falls unbound past her shoulders — the mark of a Heian-era beauty — and she wears layered robes in white and cream with subtle patterning, over a deep red uchigi undergarment that pools around her in rich folds, evoking the elaborate jūnihitoe costume of the court. To her left, a quiver packed with feathered arrows and what appears to be a decorated bow lean against the wooden post of the veranda, the unmistakable furnishings of a warrior household. Above, broad curtains of dark indigo and white stripe — a maku (幕) field curtain — billow in the wind, and through the open side of the structure a pine tree and a gently curving riverbank stretch into the distance.

The Kenkyū era (1190–1199) places the scene precisely at the dawn of the Kamakura shogunate, when shirabyōshi performers were at the peak of their cultural influence. These female entertainers — who characteristically danced in male court attire while singing imayō songs to the accompaniment of drums and flutes — occupied a uniquely fluid position in medieval Japanese society. Daughters of fallen aristocratic families, they were celebrated for their beauty, literacy, and artistic accomplishment, and were frequently patronised by the most powerful warriors of the age. The most famous shirabyōshi of them all, Shizuka Gozen, was the beloved consort of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and her story became one of the defining romantic tragedies of Japanese literature. Toshikata evokes this world with characteristic historical sensitivity: the military attributes scattered beside a woman of refinement and beauty, the juxtaposition of martial austerity and artistic grace, capture the essential tension that made the shirabyōshi such a compelling figure in the Japanese imagination.

Interesting notes about this series:

Published between 1891 and 1894, the series pairs elegant depictions of women from various historical periods with scenes of daily life — tea ceremony, music, travel, and leisure — offering a nostalgic panorama of feminine grace across the ages. This series was directly inspired by Yoshitoshi's iconic One Hundred Aspects of the Moon and showcases refined mokuhanga techniques throughout, including burnishing (tsuyazuri) on black areas such as the lacquered hat, delicate embossing (karazuri), and subtle bokashi gradation. Many designs in the series also feature metallic pigments. The prints were produced on high-quality hosho paper using plant-based pigments, resulting in colours that have retained their freshness remarkably well over more than a century. Affordably priced on today's market relative to their exceptional craftsmanship, the Sanjūroku Kasen series represents a perfect entry point into the world of ukiyo-e collecting — offering museum-quality printing at an accessible price.