Two Women on Matsuchi Hill, Edo

Two Women on Matsuchi Hill Edo by Torii Kiyonaga shows two townswomen walking on a hill. Orange, black, white, yellow, and green are colors that are used in this print. The two women are wearing kimonos with flower patterns, an example of prints that were worn by townswomen.. Although the prints are less extravagant than those of cortisones are royals, this does not mean that they are not content with their style. During the Edo period, there was a book circulating Japan called the kosode hinagatabon. This book displayed kosode patterns and prints and was divided into further genres depending on rank. So, there were print books specified for townswomen that included prints and patterns that were more appropriate for women in the lower rankings. This could be viewed as discriminator or restrictive, limiting one's fashion sense depending on their class, but this was not necessarily seen as oppressive at the time. They are divided by class since class already tells a lot about a person and what they do day to day. This way, the patterns on the women in the woodblock print above use colors that are darker so they couldn’t reveal dirt as easily as lighter colors would. This way they could do day to day tasks without soiling their appearance or staining their kimonos. Ashley Brascher Image from The Met collection