Hairdresser with her subject

Category

Library Item

Item no

15129

Title

Hairdresser with her subject

Description

A female hairdresser arranges the hair of a woman turning her back to the camera. The women are both wearing casual kimonos with obi belts. The client's hair is being arranged in a chignon, probably in the popular 'marumage' style. She gazes at her reflection in a round hand mirror that is supported by a wooden stand.
Behind the mirror lies a 'hakohibachi', a brazier encased in a wooden chest with a teapot on it. At the foot of it is a tray with a blue tea pot and cups on top. The floor is covered with tatami mats and a hanging scroll ('kakemono') and paper screens ('shoji') are also visible in the background.

Artist / maker

von Stillfried-Ratenicz, Franz

Date

1881

Size

24 x 19.5 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Art and Design Library

This item is part of a collection of prints from the studio of Baron Franz von Stillfried-Ratenicz, an Austrian photographer practising in Japan in the late 1870's. Von Stillfried ran a studio in Yokohama at the same time as his brother Raimund, who was also known as 'Baron Stillfried'. This caused a great deal of confusion with the local residents and visitors to Japan in the Meiji Period, and with art historians today. This particular photograph is sometimes attributed to Kusakabe Kinbei, a colourist and assistant of Baron Raimund von Stillfried who later opened his own photographic studio.

This album, which dates from 1879-83, comprises 67 separate mounted prints presented in a lacquerware box. Albums of this kind were popular among foreign tourists, who frequently selected the individual prints they wished to include from the studio's collection. Many of these albumen prints were hand tinted. This was a laborious process for which von Stillfried employed, at the height of his success, a substantial number of Japanese workers.

This photograph may show the client's residence, although it is more probable that this was Baron Stillfried's studio. This type of image depicting daily indoor activities of young Japanese women were very appreciated by his Western customers.
Hairdressing was a popular subject in Japanese art during this period and was also common in woodblock prints ('ukiyo-e'). In the late Edo Period (1603-1868), women's hairstyles became more complicated and professional hairdressers who visited their clients several times a week were in increasing demand. Women grew their hair extremely long in order to make these sophisticated hairstyles and a variety of hair accessories was often used. Haircombs in boxwood were particularly prized. During the Meiji Era (1868-1912), fashion evolved and Japanese women would often cut their hair to arrange it in a Western style.

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Related subjects

Business > Service industry > Hairdressers

Clothing and dress > Accessories > Hairstyles

Clothing and dress > Garments > Kimonos

People > Adults > Women

People > Commercial activities > Hairdressers

Places > Asia > Japan