Created in the early Shōwa era (1930–35) before the Second World War, this work balances tradition and modern sensibility. A young Japanese woman with light skin reclines diagonally across a wide, pale backdrop, as if caught mid-turn. She supports herself on one hand, the other resting near her leg, bare feet extended behind her. Her hair is glossy black, side-parted and swept back into a soft, low roll. She looks down and to our left with a calm, slightly guarded expression featuring fine brows, dark-lined eyes, and small red lips. She wears a formal furisode (振袖 or long-sleeved kimono) of deep black bands alternating with creamy panels filled with delicate, lace-like motifs, and edged with thin red accents. A vivid vermilion obi (帯 or belt) wraps her waist, tied with a light cord.
Alone near the lower left margin is a tiny red-and-black ornament or toy doll with a ball body, thin limbs on a small stand plus a dangling purple tassel, emphasizing the openness around her. The kimono’s long sleeves fan outward like wings, creating strong horizontal stripes that contrast with her angled body. Subtle shading along her cheekbones and neck suggests soft light, while the background remains almost unmodulated warm paper tone with faint specks. Her figure is outlined with precise, clean contours while colors are restrained except for the obi, which becomes the visual anchor. The the pose in emptiness feels both intimate and staged, like a studio study of fabric, posture, and mood.
The furisode signals youth and formality, yet the streamlined hair and relaxed, twisting pose feel distinctly 20th-century. Ueda Usaburo (上田宇三郎), a Fukuoka-born nihonga painter, trained in Kyoto under Hirakawa Kōsei after leaving school due to illness. His early work was noted for finely drawn women. Blank space and bold black bands strip the scene to essentials like gesture, pattern, and the psychology of an averted gaze while the tiny ornament at the corner hints at domestic life or ceremony.
振袖の女性 (Woman in a Long-Sleeved Kimono) by 上田宇三郎 / Ueda Usaburo (Japanese) - Color on paper / 1930–1935 - Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art (Japan) #WomenInArt #UedaUsaburo #上田宇三郎 #Ueda #Nihonga #日本画 #art #artText #Kimono #着物 #arte #FukuokaPrefecturalMuseumofArt #福岡県立美術館 #JapaneseArtist #JapaneseArt