Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), Utagawa Kunihisa II. Woman writing a poem / Fan print, 1862.

Description: Fan print (uchiwa-e 団扇絵), 233 × 302 mm. Bust-length portrait of a woman, elegantly rendered by Kunisada in a soft three-quarter pose, her head tilted, and gaze lifted to the left, holding a decorated poem card (tanzaku, 短冊) in her left hand and a brush in her right, about to write. Her hair is simply arranged with a ribbon and hairpins (kanzashi, 簪); she wears a kimono with a dense cherry-blossom pattern and white bellflowers (kikyō, 桔梗), tied with a purple obi ornamented with arabesque (karakusa, 唐草) and clove (chōji, 丁子) motifs; a red under-robe and a blue-toned collar frame the neckline; her teeth are blackened (ohaguro, お歯黒), indicating married or courtesan status.
The background landscape—river or coastal view with boats and low buildings—is by Kunihisa II; signed 國久画 (Kunihisa ga) in a yellow cartouche. Below appears a red toshidama cartouche with Kunisada’s signature 人物 喜翁豊國画 (Ki-ō Toyokuni ga); beside it the block-cutter’s seal 彫竹 (hori Take) for Yokokawa Takejirō (横川竹二郎). A poem cartouche is at upper left (unread); the sky shows bokashi (ぼかし) gradation. Green triple-lozenge fields (mitsubishi, 三菱形) frame the woman's figure. Date and kiwame (極) censor seals for 1862 (Bunkyū 2); publisher’s seal “san” (三) in a circle for Ibaya Senzaburō (伊場屋仙三郎) appears in the left green field.