Wood engraving on virgin washi paper, mm354x240 Oban size. 19th century. Original colors. Female figure, geisha walking by lifting up her elegant and eventful geometrically patterned kimono, black brown and light blue shawl and very richly draped. At left in red the title of the series, at bottom censor's seal, signature and red stamp of the author. The female figure (Bijin-ga) played a central role in the range of major subjects of ukiyo-e prints, painting and depicting the floating world, life passing by. Bijin-ga (Japanese: 美人画, “paintings of beautiful women,” bijin) style is a generic term for images of beautiful women in Japanese art, especially in woodcuts of the ukiyo-e genre, which predates photography. Nice specimen has small hole at top.