FEMALE BODY DEPICTED IN UKIYO-E IN THE EDO PERIOD

抄録

In ukiyo-e, which reflects and represents the aesthetics unique to Japan, the ideal dressed female figure in the Edo Period is depicted, and the features of figure vary during the long Edo Period. In this paper, firstly we chose some works produced in the Edo and the early Meiji Periods by eminent ukiyo-e artists, and categorized them into 6 groups. Thereupon, we estimated the body shape of the depicted dressed standing female figure, and made a quantitative analysis of the features seen in the female body depicted. Based on the analysis, we pointed out the following, 1) the transition depicting some regions of body with the lapse of time is noticeable while other is not, 2) the body shape of the depicted figure has a cylindrical torso without much constraction in the waist, as compared to the proportions of modern female adults.