The Sōri Period

The signature “Hokusai Sōri” indicates that this picture was painted around the end of Hokusai’s “Sōri” period when he was part of the Tawaraya school. Although this period was short, this was an exceptionally important period in the development of Hokusai’s art where he established his artistic personality of constantly studying and experimenting with new forms of painting styles (Calza, 104&106). With that, he was able to create a distinctive style of portraying women in a way that figures would seem so delicate and fragile with their elongated bodies that creates a sense of weightlessness and detachment from reality (Calza, 105). This painting depicting a woman from behind with her facial expression unrevealed, along with the slender figure and the stillness of her pose is a prime indication of Hokusai’s pictures of beauties during this period (Yonemura, 49).