SHIBATA TOSHINDO (MID-19TH CENTURY–CIRCA 1910) Kakejiku in ink and colours on silk, depicting a group of women seated and engaged in various activities, shown from above in a bird’s-eye view. Signed lower left ‘Toshindo joshi’ (Mrs Toshindo), above a red seal reading ‘Banpô joshi’ (Mrs Banpô). (Stains, small creases). Japan, Meiji period, c. 1870–1880. KAKEJIKU, INK AND COLOURS ON SILK, SIGNED LOWER LEFT, JAPAN, MEIJI PERIOD, CA. 1870–1880. DIM. 95 X 34 CM (37 3/8 X 13 3/8 IN.) About the artist: Originally from Nagoya, the wife and sister of artists (Shibata Hoshu and Niwa Reizan respectively), she was a pupil of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and later of Mizuno Toshikata. She excelled at painting beautiful women, whom she would sometimes depict with humour. According to the ‘Directory of Aichi Painters’, she was a lover of ukiyo-e.