Surimono
Shikishiban,

Nishiki-e,
ca.1890

Nice print with few heightened gold, Mount Fuji sketched by the use of embossing.

A couple is represented here in front of the gate (torii) leading to the Shinto shrine on the promontory of Enoshima. The bag on the man's back and the woman's outfit wearing the ageb'shi (headdress protecting her elaborate bun), suggests that they are travelers from the neighboring city of Edo.

The geometric pattern of the woman's kimono (yagasuri) is a kind of ikat weave reproducing the distinctive design of the arrow feather (ya). This model initially worn by women of the warrior class and then adopted by the servants of the Court of the Shoguns spread in the 19th century among the women of the city of the merchant class.