Antique Japan Photo Bijin Woman Yukata Kimono Nihongami

Numbered, antique Japanese photo card depicting a beautiful young woman (bijin) posing in a patterned yukata garment.  Yukata are a special type of lightweight kimono once commonly worn in Japan during the hot and humid summer months.  Yukata are today still popular at outdoor festivals where they are worn with zori sandals or geta wooden clogs.  This photo was originally part of a set of images produced by the Megumi Yukata company as a means of marketing their garments, and the company name can be seen printed at the lower corner.  The photo includes a purple number stamp which may have been used to identify the particular yukata being modeled.

A highlight of this photo is the woman’s beautifully arranged hair which is done up in a traditional style called Nihongami.  The Japanese have always cared greatly about their appearance and especially about the style and arrangement of their hair.  Westerners traveling through Japan in the late 19th century often commented after this fact, noting that even very poor Japanese always took care to maintain their hair though their clothes may be but rags.  The woman in this photo reminds us of this fact of Japanese culture as her clothing and Nihongami-style coiffeur can only be described as perfect.  This splendid antique photograph is an emblematic example of feminine virtue in old Japan.