Ladies Sewing (Kijo saihō no zu)

September 3rd, 1887

Not on view

The sewing machine is the featured attraction in this print of upper-class women making and ironing clothing. Sewing machines were a novelty in Japan in the 1870s, but by the mid-1880s, when Western dress was enforced for many government employees, seamstresses and tailors started to use Singer machines in preference to hand machines. The sewing machine was among the efficiency-improving devices that carried Western ideas concerning gender roles, progress, and technology into Japan. The Meiji empress supported imported fashions with caution but at the same time was an advocate for the development of the domestic textile industry. However, around the 1880s only the upper classes could afford expensive Western garments.

Artwork Details

安達吟光画　『貴女裁縫之図』
Title: Ladies Sewing (Kijo saihō no zu)
Artist: Adachi Ginkō (Japanese, 1853–1902)
Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
Date: September 3rd, 1887
Culture: Japan
Medium: Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image: 14 × 28 1/2 in. (35.6 × 72.4 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959
Object Number: JP3272
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Adachi Ginkō

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

“Act II, Scene 5: At the Opera in Paris,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki, Adachi Ginkō Japanese, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan — “Act II, Scene 5: At the Opera in Paris,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki
Adachi Ginkō
1879

“Act II, Scene 2: Along Train Tracks in America,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki, Adachi Ginkō Japanese, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan — “Act II, Scene 2: Along Train Tracks in America,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki
Adachi Ginkō
1879

Illustration of the Issuing of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace, Adachi Ginkō Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, Japan — Illustration of the Issuing of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace
Adachi Ginkō
March 14, 1889

View of the Issuance of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace, Adachi Ginkō Japanese, One sheet of a triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — View of the Issuance of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace
Adachi Ginkō
March 2, 1889 (Meiji 22)

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.