Young woman playing the koto

Category

Library Item

Item no

15142

Title

Young woman playing the koto

Description

A young woman kneels on a tatami mat whilst she plays the koto, a stringed musical instrument. She is wearing a blue kimono with a blue and white design in the shape of waves, and a yellow obi (Japanese sash) decorated with blue, green and red details. Her hair is fastened with a simple golden ornament.
The picture was taken indoors in the photographer's studio. In the background are a 'shoji' (paper wall) and a white screen decorated with small vertical pictures and a hand fan.
The photograph has been hand tinted with great care; her lips and cheeks have been delicately coloured, as well as her garment and the koto. The rest of the photograph has been left in black and white.

Artist / maker

von Stillfried-Ratenicz, Franz

Date

1881

Size

19.5 x 24 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 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 picture is another example demonstrating how the photographer used props to recreate a traditional Japanese interior. Props were often used by early photographers in Japan and Stillfried often used those visible in this photograph. For instance, the decorated screen in the background is visible in another photograph in the Henry Dyer collection, showing a young girl holding a tobacco pipe (item no. 15168. The screen makes the background of the photograph look more interesting and gives the composition an air of domestic authenticity. A Westerner visiting a traditional Japanese house would have encountered this type of furniture.

Originally from China, the koto was introduced in Japan between the 7th and 8th centuries. It became a very popular musical instrument in the Edo Era (1615-1868) with blind composer Yatsuhashi Kengyo (1614 - 1685) who created a new style of music using it.

A koto has thirteen strings and the musician needs to place bridges under them in order to determine the pitch. It is necessary to wear pick on the thumb, index finger and middle finger of the right hand to play. As the young woman in this photograph does not wear any, it is clear this picture has been staged.

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Related images

Related subjects

Clothing and dress > Accessories > Hair ornaments

Clothing and dress > Garments > Kimonos

People > Entertainment and sports > Musicians

Places > Asia > Japan

Sport and leisure > Culture > Musical instruments