Bijin Kuchi-e Color Offset Lithographs and Taishō-Era Popular Magazines (Updated)

OVERVIEW

The period 1914 through 1921 has been called by Kendall Brown the "'golden age' of bijin kuchi-e”.1 During this golden age (and continuing into the 1930s), thousands of inserted pictures (kuchi-e), mostly printed using metal plate lithography and photo-offset printing, were commissioned from both well-known and little-known artists by publishers of mass-market popular culture magazines (taishū zasshi). The vast majority of these illustrations depicted beautiful women (bijin) and they appeared as inserted frontispieces, illustrations to serialized novels, advertisements, promotional supplements, as well as cover illustrations.

PRINTS IN COLLECTION 

COMPLETE MAGAZINES WITH BIJIN KUCHI-E INSERT

Fujin sekai (Women's World), April 1918

Cover "Before the Marriage" by Akashi Seiichi (act. c. 1910-1930s)

Insert "Reishō" by Ikeda Terukata (1883-1921)

IHL Cat. #2400

Fujin sekai (Women's World), Autumn Special Issue, October 1918

Cover "Harimono" by Suzuki Noriko (active c. 1918)

Insert "Reishō" by Morita Hisashi (active c. 1910s-1930s)

IHL Cat. #2401

Katei zasshi (The Home Journal), Volume 2, Number 6, June 1, 1916

Cover "Early Summer" by Saitō Ioe (1884-1966)

Insert "Visit" by Yamamura Kōka (Toyonari) (1885-1942)

IHL Cat. #2663

Katei zasshi (The Home Journal), Volume 2, Number 7, July 1, 1916

Cover "Swans" by Sugiura Hisui (1876-1965)

Insert "Approval or Disapproval" by Ikeda Terukata (1883-1921)

IHL Cat. #2664

BIJIN KUCHI-E  SEPARATED FROM ORGINAL MAGAZINE

Bijin with Sake Bowl (阿艶殿) from an unknown magazine,

c. 1915-early 1930s

Igawa Sengai (1876-1961)

printing company:Tokyo Seibidō

11 11/16 x 8 11/16 in.

(29.7 x 22.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #1798

Woman and Child Looking at Doll Display (untitled) from an unknown magazine

 c. 1915-early 1930s

Morita Hisashi (active c. 1910s-1930s)

8 15/16 x 5 9/16 in.

(22.7 x 14.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #1640

Woman at Beach (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

Morita Hisashi

(active c. 1910s-1930s)

printing company: Tokyo Seibidō

14 1/8 x 7 1/4 in.

(35.9 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #2388

Reishō, from the magazine Fujin sekai, October 1918

publisher: Jitsugyō no Nihonsha

Morita Hisashi

(active c. 1910s-1930s)

printing company: Tokyo Mitsuma Print Shop Rotary Offset Printing

11 7/8 x 8 11/16 in.

(30.2 x 22.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #2401a


Approval or Disapproval, from the magazine Katei zasshi (The Home Journal), Volume 2, No. 7

(家庭雑誌 第二巻 第七號)

July 1916

Ikeda Terukata (1883-1921) (reproduction of artist's original painting on silk),

publisher: Hakubunkan

printing company: Tokyo Seibidō

14 1/4 x 7 1/2 in.

(36.2 x 19.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #1345

Reishō from the magazine

Fujin sekai, April 1918

publisher: Jitsugyō no Nihonsha

Ikeda Terukata (1883-1921)

11 7/8 x 8 5/8 in.

(30.2 x 21.9 cm)

IHL Cat. #2400a


Bijin with parasol in snow (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

anonymous (unsigned)

11 11/16 x 8 3/8 in.

(29.7 x 21.3 cm)

IHL Cat. #2411 

Bijin Reading (untitled) from an unknown magazine, c. 1915-early 1930s

Ikeda Shōen (1886-1917)

14 7/16 x 7 5/16 in.

(36.7 x 18.6 cm)

IHL Cat. #2394

Festival of Dolls (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

Shiizuoka Shōka

printing company: Tokyo Seibidō

14 3/8 x 7 7/16 in.

(36.5 x 18.9 cm)

IHL Cat. #2393 

Two Women with Teapot and Books (untitled)

from an unknown magazine

c. 1920-early 1930s

Noguchi Kōgai

野口紅涯, also 野口紅厓 (b. c. 1899, active 1919-1930s)

 12 1/2 x 6 3/4 in.

(31.8 x 17.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #1629 

Woman with Letter (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1920-early 1930s

Noguchi Kōgai

野口紅涯, also 野口紅厓 (b. c. 1899, active 1919-1930s)

 8 1/2 x 5 9/16 in.

(21.6 x 14.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #1628

Woman on a Train (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1920-early 1930s

Noguchi Kōgai

野口紅涯, also 野口紅厓 (b. c. 1899, active 1919-1930s)

 8 3/4 x 5 9/16 in.

(22.2 x 14.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #1630

Woman and Billboard (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1920-early 1930s

Noguchi Kōgai

野口紅涯, also 野口紅厓 (b. c. 1899, active 1919-1930s)

9 1/2 x 5 5/16 in.

(24.1 x 13.5 cm)

IHL Cat. #1631

"Sanuki masu," frontispiece from the magazine Omoshiro Club (面白クラブ), Volume 4, Number 3

February 1919

Noguchi Kōgai

野口紅涯, also 野口紅厓 (b. c. 1899, active 1919-1930s)

publisher: Kōdansha 講談社

9 1/16 x 5 13/16 in.

(23 x 14.8 cm)

IHL Cat. #1632

Bijin and Cherry Tree (untitled) from an unknown magazine,

c. 1915-early 1930s

Hirezaki Eihō (1880-1968)

printing company: Seibidō

14 x 7 3/8 in.

(35.6 x 18.7 cm)

IHL Cat. #1794 

Bijin at the Seashore

(untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

Hirezaki Eihō (1880-1968)

printing company: Tokyo Seibidō

14 1/2 x 7 7/16 in.

(36.8 x 18.9 cm) 

IHL Cat. #2386

Bijin with Fan

(unread title 框茸髢の匂)

from an unknown magazine

 c. 1915-early 1930s

Kondō Shiun (act. c. 1915–1940)

10 3/8 x 7 1/4 in.

(26.4 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #1800


 Bijin Adjusting Hair (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early1930s

Terashima Shimei (1892-1975)

11 13/16 x 8 5/8 in. 

(30 x 21.9 cm)

IHL Cat. #1868


Bijin Holding Magazine (untitled) from the magazine Kōdan zasshi (published by Hakubunkan)

1915-early1930s

attributed to Morikawa Seiha

森川青玻 (?-?)

(signature of this unknown artist trimmed from image)

13 1/2 x 6 15/16 in.

(34.3 x 17.6 cm)

IHL Cat. #1867 

Tranquil 長閑

from the magazine Katei zasshi (The Home Journal)

(published by  Hakubunkan)

April 1916

Uemura Shōen (1875–1949)

14 5/16 x 7 1/4 in.

(36.4 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #2384

Autumn [Exhibition] in Ueno

(Aki no Ueno) appearing in Fujokai (Woman's Sphere),

Vol. 22, No. 4

October 1920

Publisher: Fujokaisha 

Kurihara Gyokuyō (1883-1922)

 11 5/8 x 8 in.

(29.5 x 20.3 cm)

IHL Cat. #1875

Morning from the magazine Fujin sekai, Vol. 15, No. 10,

October 1920

Kurihara Gyokuyō (1883-1922)

Publisher: Jitsugyō no Nihonsha

11 11/16 x 8 1/2 in.

(29.7 x 21.6 cm)

IHL Cat. #2408


Bijin Leaning on Railing (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

Masuda Gyokujō (1881-1955)

14 3/16 x 7 7/16 in.

(36 x 18.9 cm)

IHL Cat. #2383

Bijin embroidering (untitled) possibly appearing in Fujin sekai,

c. 1915-early 1930s

Masuda Gyokujō (1881 - 1955)

i11 5/8 x 8 9/16 in.

(29.5 x 21.7 cm)

IHL Cat. #2409

Bijin with Flower Arrangement (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

Kikuchi Keigetsu (1879-1955)

printing company: Tokyo Seibidō

14 1/16 x 7 5/16 in.

(35.7 x 18.6 cm)

IHL Cat. #2389

Bijin and Paper Lantern (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1972)

printing company: Tokyo Seibidō

14 7/16 x 7 7/16 in.

(36.7 x 18.9 cm)

IHL Cat. #2387

Bijin Gazing into Garden (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early1930s

Kitani Chigusa (1890-1945)

 14 1/2 x 7 3/8 in.

(36.8 x 18.7 cm)

IHL Cat. #2385

Bijin Gazing into Garden (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early1930s

Kitani Chigusa (1890-1945)

14 x 7 1/2 in.

(35.6 x 19.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #1344

Bijin with Parasol and Mount Fuji

(untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

13 1/8 x 7 1/4 in.

(33.3 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #1863

Bijin with Pink Bow, (untitled)

from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early1930s

unread artist

11 3/8 x 8 11/16 in.

(28.9 x 22.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #1796


Two Western Women on Deck Lounge Chairs, (title unread)

from an unknown magazine, 1919

unread artist

7 13/16 x 10 3/16 in.

(19.8 x 25.9 cm)

IHL Cat. #1792

 たそがるゝ丘 (Tasogare no oka) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

12 1/16 x 8 9/16 in.

(30.6 x 21.7 cm)

IHL Cat. #1799

Bijin in Brown-stripped Kimono with Three Ginko Leaves (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

11 13/16 x 9 5/8 in.

(30 x 24.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #1877

Bijin Looking Askance, (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

Kitano Tsunetomi (1880-1947)

9 3/16 x 6 7/16 in.

(23.3 x 16.4 cm)

IHL Cat. # 1791

Bijin in Green Kimono with Shimadamage Hairstyle (untitled) from an unknown magazine,

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

11 9/16 x 8 1/2 in.

(29.4 x 21.6 cm)

IHL Cat. #1865

Bijin in Blue Kimono with Parasol (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early1930s

anonymous artist

13 1/8 x 7 1/8 in.

(33.3 x 18.1 cm)

IHL Cat. #1864

『御用盜異聞』のお龍

(Goyōtō ibun) 2nd chapter in the novel Kurama Tengu by the author Osaragi Jirō (1897-1925), 1924-1925

unread artist

13 5/8 x 7 1/4 in.

(34.6 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #1870

Bijin in Purple Kimono with Pagoda in Background (untitled) from an unknown magazine,

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

11 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.

(28.3 x 20.6 cm)

IHL Cat. #1866


Bijin and Man with Orange Lanterns,

(untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

11 5/8 x 8 9/16 in.

(29.5 x 21.7 cm)

IHL Cat. #1872

Bijin in Kimono Touching Up Lipstick (untitled) from an unknown magazine,

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

13 3/4 x 7 1/4 in.

(34.9 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #1869

Visit from the magazine Katei zasshi

(The Home Journal), Volume 2, No. 6

(家庭雑誌 第二巻 第六號)

June 1916 

Yamamura Kōka (Toyonari) (1885-1942)

Publisher: Hakubunkan 

14 5/8 x 7 5/16 in.

(37.1 x 18.6 cm)

IHL Cat. #2392

『暴風雨前後』の靜子 

(Storm all around Shizuko),

from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

13 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.

(34.3 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #1873

Bijin with Falling Cherry Blossoms

(untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist seal

13 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.

(34.3 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #1876

Bijin in Purple Kimono with Sake Cup and Cherry Tree (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

13 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.

(34.3 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #1874

Bijin with White Chrysanthemums (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread signature and seal of artist

printing company:

Tokyo Seibidō

14 7/16 x 7 1/4 in.

(36.7 x 18.4 cm)

IHL Cat. #2382

Bijin in Front of Shoji 

(untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unidentified artist, signed 百合

printing company:

Tokyo Seibidō

14 3/8 x 7 3/8 in.

(36.5 x 18.7 cm)

IHL Cat. #2391

Bijin in windy landscape (untitled) from an unknown magazine

c. 1915-early 1930s

unread artist

11 1/2 x 8 1/4 in.

(29.2 x 21 cm)

IHL Cat. #2410

Pet Dog  愛犬

appearing in Shufu no Tomo Vol. 18 No. 1

January 1, 1934

Itō Shinsui (1898-1972)

publisher: Shufu no Tomo Co. Ltd

image: 13 15/16 x 17 7/8 in.

(35.4 x 45.4)

sheet: 14 1/4 x 18 1/16 in.

(36.2 x 45.9 cm)

IHL Cat. #2460


Sighting of a Bird (鳥影 Torikage)

from an unknown magazine

c. early 1930s

Itō Shinsui (1898-1972)

printer: 美術印刷株式會社印

image: 9 7/8 x 7 13/16 in.

(25.1 x 21 cm)

sheet: 10 7/8 x 8 1/4 in.

(27.6 x 21 cm)

IHL Cat. #2412

Bijinga Kuchi-e and Taishō-era Popular Magazines


"The female figure had been a prominent motif in popular Japanese art at least since the Edo heyday of Bijinga, the 'beautiful women' genre of ukiyo-e, but it gained special cachet during the Taisho, when women were finally achieving acceptance as full-fledged members of Japanese society -- especially as consumers. This period has sometimes been described as 'the age of women and children' because for the first time, those segments of the population were deemed worthy marketing targets. Women's magazines and children's picture books proliferated. . ."2 


The period 1914 through 1921 has been called by Kendall Brown the "'golden age' of bijin kuchi'e”.3 During this golden age (and continuing into the 1930s), thousands of inserted pictures (kuchi-e), mostly printed using metal plate lithography and photo-offset printing, were commissioned from both well-known and little-known artists by publishers of mass-market popular culture magazines (taishū zasshi). The vast majority of these illustrations depicted beautiful women (bijin) and they appeared as inserted frontispieces, illustrations to serialized novels, advertisements, promotional supplements, as well as cover illustrations. 


While employing new technology, the use of inserted pictures in both magazines and novels during this golden age was a continuation of the use of woodblock-printed multi-color illustrations in magazines and novels of the prior late Meiji period, c. 1890-1912, during which time the use of traditional woodblock printing technology for mass reproduction dramatically declined.4 

Unfortunately most of the bijin kuchi-e found for sale today, as with all but a few of this collection’s prints, have become separated from the original magazines they were inserted in, making it impossible to determine what they may have been illustrating. In Kendal Brown's words, by their separation they become "unmoored from their physical context ... [where] they participated in a visual dialogue with a variety of images of women, including color cover designs (hyōshi-e), monochrome illustrations (sashi-e) in the fiction, photos of persons in the news and advertisements."5 In collecting these affordable prints, expect to see a characteristic tri-fold as many of the prints were larger than the dimensions of the magazines they were inserted into.  

The Magazines

Bijin kuchi-e appeared in both general audience magazines, such as Bungei kurabu 文芸俱楽部 (Literary Club, 1895-1933, publisher Hakubunkan), Kōdan kurabu 講談倶楽部 (Storytelling Club, 1911-1962, publisher Dai Nihon Yūbenkai Kōdansha) and Kingu キング (King, 1925-1943, publisher Dai Nihon Yūbenkai Kōdansha), Japan’s first million selling magazine, and magazines specifically targeted at girls and women such as Jogaku Sekai 女学世界 (Student Girls’ World, 1901-1925, publisher Hakubunkan), Fujin kurabu 婦人倶楽部 (Women's Club, 1920-1988, publisher Kodansha), Fujokai 婦女界 (Woman's Sphere, 1910-1943, 1948-1950, 1952 Dōbunkan; later, Fujokai), Fujin sekai 婦人世界 (Women's World, 1906-1933, publisher Jitsugyō no Nihonsha) and Shufu no tomo 主婦之友 (The Housewife's Friend, 1917-2008, publisher Tokyo kaseikai; later, Shufu no tomosha ), whose monthly circulation was to reach 200,000 in 1927 and grow to over 1,000,000 in the mid-1930s.6 Between 1911 and 1930 over 200 women's magazines and journals began publication, although not all featured bijin kuchi-e.7  

The Subject Matter of Women's Magazines

While the Taishō era (1912-1926) brought with it material benefits and status improvement for many women and saw the emergence of the "new woman" (atarashii onna), mass market magazines targeted for women had an ambivalent attitude about these changes.  

Source:Yumeji Modern: Designing the Everyday in Twentieth-Century Japan, Nozomi Naoi, University of Washington Press, 2020, p. 102.

The types of articles then featured in women's magazines reveal the inconsistency between traditional roles for women and women's liberation. In 1920, for example, Fujin kōron (Ladies forum) published articles such as "What If Women Were Allowed in Politics?," "The Unavoidable Need for Contraception and Our Nation," and "Bad Wife, Dumb Mother" (a play on the expression ryōsai kenbo, or "good wife, wise mother"). That same year articles in Shufu no tomo (Housewife's companion) included "What Maidens Expect in Marriage," "Words of Advice for Parents: How to Ensure Your Child Enters the Best Middle School or Girls School," and "Reorganizing a Wedding Ceremony and Banquet." While feminist movements were becoming active during the first decades of the twentieth century, the above sampling of articles is indicative of what Frederick [Sarah Frederick in "Girls' Magazines and the Creation of Shōjo Identities"] describes as the contradictory content found in these publications: "They defined women's roles - housewife, school-girl, mother - in newly restrictive ways, but they also generated new possibilities for different identities."

Of course serialized novels and stories (some written by the magazine's readers) were a constant and, being commercial ventures, women's magazines “touted the newest fashions, household goods, and cosmetics” directing their readers to the department stores where these items could be bought.8

In describing the typical themes for many of the woodblock illustrations appearing in popular women's magazines in the late Meiji period, Julia Meech-Pekarik speaks of the "romantic introspection" of the women depicted, going on to say, "The stories these prints illustrate typically center on a series of incredibly fragile and beautiful women from good families who confront personal tragedy with pride and fortitude. Some are driven to avenge the death of a family member, while others commit suicide rather than compromise themselves in love."9 In looking at these Taishō era illustrations we see the persistence of these themes.

Source: Dangerous Beauties and Dutiful Wives: Popular Portraits of Women in Japan, 1905-1925, Kendall Brown, Dover Publications, Inc., 2011, p. IX.

In Taishō kuchi-e, bijin often look out a window to a nearby landscape or to gaze at plants, pose in front of flora, or, in a few cases, pick flowers or tend them. In nearly every image there is a seasonal reference so that the woman stands for the season and for the appreciation of it. Because the clothing of the bijin is linked to the season, the relationship is harmonious. These images invoke an ideology of naturalness by which the particular construct of feminine beauty, and its associations, are naturalized - seen as existing without contrivance. Nature also may function allegorically, so that fresh snow symbolizes purity and cherry blossoms evoke transience. The typical downward cast of the eyes suggests a gaze inward, as is to imply that the lessons of the season are being internalized by the bijin, who is, fundamentally, reflective. This quality of "romantic introspection" to suggest personality and an inner life was carried over from Meiji kuchi-e, where it often expressed melancholy or world weariness.