Appearing Inquisitive, Behavior of a Maid of the Tenpō Era

According to the title, this portrait refers to the Tenpō era (1830–44), and the woman is an okoshō, a maid in the service of a samurai family. She would have been sent there to learn good manners as part of her education. Ironically, Yoshitoshi captured her peering through slatted bamboo doors as if she were spying, perhaps on members of the family she serves. The black-on-black peony pattern of her sash (obi) was achieved through a polishing technique called shōmen-zuri, in which the block with the pattern was placed behind the paper, and then the surface was rubbed with a hard polisher, such as porcelain.