Detail View: The AMICA Library: Hana-ogi

Paper for prints was available in a range of standard sizes. This long, narrow format was known as hashira-e or pillar print, although there is no evidence that they were ever pasted on pillars. As is evident from this print by Shuncho of the famous courtesan Hana-ogi, hashira-e were effective for images of standing figures.

This work was printed on two pieces of paper pasted together near the middle of the composition. The deeper pink color in the band where the papers overlap suggests that the adhesive helped preserve the dye, probably benior safflower pink. The pink color in this print is still quite intense, especially compared with the faded beni in the print by Kiyomitsu (also on display). The yellow color of the railing and floor may have come from tumeric, a plant root. Known as ukon, this pigment does not merely fade with exposure to light--it disappears entirely.