Manzan of the Chojiya, from the series "Models for Fashion: New Designs as Fresh as Young Leaves (Hinagata wakana no hatsu moyo)"

Art Historical Context

**Manzan of thejiya**, a captivating color woodblock print by the renowned ukiyo-e master Isoda Koryusai, dates to around 1778–80. Part of the series *Models for Fashion: New Designs Fresh as Young Leaves (inagata wakana noatsu moyo)*, it showcases the courtesan Manzan from the Choji pleasure house in Edo (modern Tokyo). Rendered in the large oban format (36.6 × 26.4 cm), this print exemplifies Koryusai's skill in bijin-ga, or "pictures of beautiful women," blending elegance with everyday allure. Created during Japan's Edo period, when ukiyo-e prints exploded in popularity, this work served as a fashionable pattern book (*hinagata*). Urban women eagerly collected such affordable prints to replicate the latest kimono designs at local dyers, capturing the era's obsession with transient beauty and style. Koryusai, active in the 1770s, mastered multicolored *nishiki-e* (brocade pictures), layering vibrant hues through precise woodblock carving and printing—a labor-intensive technique that made high art accessible to the masses. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia department, this piece highlights ukiyo-e's cultural role in documenting fashion and social life, offering a vivid glimpse into 18th-century Japan's vibrant pleasure districts and sartorial innovation.