Courtesan and Attendant with Umbrella in the Snow

This print depicts a courtesan walking in the snow under an umbrella held by her female attendant. Although the snow on the ground and umbrella are described in a fairly simple way, the swirling, fluid, and rhythmic lines that describe the women’s clothing have a strength and animated expression of the sort Kiyomasu I used in his depictions of kabuki actors. The courtesan’s kimono has a pattern of pine branches covered in snow; her attendant’s clothing combines knotted letters (musubi-fumi 結び文) at the top and plum blossoms, a symbol of spring, at the bottom. Touches of hand-colored red enliven the decorative patterns.