Totoya Hokkei (Japan, 1780-1850) Print, shikishiban (surimono), Woman leaning at a table looking at a plum tree in blossom. Signed Ōju Hokkei ga. Silver pigments. Early 1830s. Dim. 20.2 x 17.6 cm An elegant young woman sits at a writing table, admiring a plum branch through a window. At first glance, her hair, with the top of her forehead shaved, might suggest that she is an iroko, a young male courtier, although this type of hairstyle was becoming fashionable among women at the time. The two poems on this surimono use the image of a plum tree in blossom as a metaphor for a beautiful woman in the prime of life. Reference: A similar print published in John T. Carpenter (ed.), Reading surimono, p. 236