Young woman reading a letter
1711-1785
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1903.136
Tags
About this artwork
To 1903
Art Historical Context
**Young Woman Reading a Letter** by Ishikawa Toyonobu1711–1785) captures the serene elegance of everyday life in Japan's Edo period (16151868). Toyonobu, a master ukiyo-e—the "pictures of the floating world"—specialized in bijin-ga, or images of beautiful women, often depicted in intimate, poetic moments. This kakemono, a traditional hanging scroll painting, showcases a young woman absorbed in a letter, evoking themes of romance, longing, and quiet introspection that were central to urban culture in 18th-century Japan. Rendered with delicate lines and subtle colors typical of ukiyo-e, the wor...