Toyohara Chikanobu: ‘Female Student with Umbrella’

This ukiyo-e woodblock print from the Meiji period (1868-1912) depicts a young female student presumably heading to one of her lessons. In a very fashionable manner, she is combining a checkered buttoned shirt with a cherryblossom-patterned kimono, showing off the undergarment’s band collar and sleeves with rounded cuffs. The black laced umbrella additionally confirms the young woman’s position as one of the fashion leaders of the era.