Sympathy

This print is of an empress looking upon the peasants who are harvesting rice. The empress is wearing a furisode, noted by the long sleeves. The outer robe seems to have lots of embroideries while the inner sleeves are simple. Her clothing appears to have multiple layers similar to the courtesan but is less extravagant. Since she is an empress, not many sumptuary laws would have been made to restrict the design, embroidery, or cloth being used to make her clothes. Yet there were sumptuary laws for the upper class in order to restrict the women from spending too much money. Additionally, the empress was expected to have clothing that is not made from cheap material and have intricate embroidery done on her outer robes. The courtesan might have similar robes to her but her robes look more elegant and sophisticated in comparison. Sonal Gupta Image courtesy of The MET