Pictures of Ten Styles (Jittaiga Fuzoku): A Young Woman with a Dog

Art Historical Context

Torii Kiyonaga's *Pictures of Ten Styles (Jittaiga Fuzoku): A Young Woman with a* (ca. 1790–91) captures the elegance of Edo-period Japan through a charming woodblock print. Part of a series showcasing diverse female figures in fashionable poses, this intimate scene depicts a poised young woman tenderly holding a small dog, embodying the bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women) tradition. Produced during the prosperous Edo period (16151868), when urban culture flourished in cities like Edo (modern Tokyo), such prints reflected the rising merchant class's fascination with beauty, fashion, and everyday pleasures. Kiyonaga, a leading ukiyo-e artist from the Torii school, mastered the woodblock technique—carving intricate designs into wooden blocks, inking them, and pressing onto paper with vibrant colors layered by hand. His innovative use of perspective and subtle shading brought unprecedented realism and grace to figures, influencing later masters like Hokusai and Hiroshige. At 14 3/4 × 9 15/16 inches, this affordable print was mass-produced for a wide audience, democratizing art. Culturally, the motif of women with pets symbolized refined domesticity and companionship in Japan's floating world of transient joys. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art collection (Fletcher Fund, 1929), it invites viewers to appreciate how ukiyo-e bridged art and popular life, offering a window into 18th-century Japanese femininity and whimsy.

About the Artist

Torii Kiyonaga · 1752–1815

Torii Kiyonaga, born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752 in Uraga, Sagami Province, was the son of an Edo bookseller who owned tenements near a bustling fish market. At age 14 in 1765, he began his apprenticeship under Torii Kiyomitsu, the third-generation head of the prestigious Torii school of ukiyo-e, renowned for kabuki theater illustrations and signage. Adopted into the Torii family, Kiyonaga succeede...