Abstract

★A complete pictorial commentary on Utagawa Kunisada’s (Toyokuni III) One Hundred Beauties of Famous Edo Sites — Discover the many colors of women’s lives in the late Edo period.
★Look at the prints, read the stories — among these hundred portraits, you’re sure to find a woman you can’t help but feel affection for.

Utagawa Kunisada’s One Hundred Beauties of Famous Edo Sites is a series of ukiyo-e prints pairing one hundred beautiful women with one hundred renowned locations in Edo.
Each print captures an Edo-period woman vividly engaged in daily life — so real that they seem like living, breathing individuals Kunisada himself might have met.
This book offers a detailed pictorial reading (e-toki) of the series, revealing the customs, fashions, and social realities of women at the time.
From a young woman secretly writing a love letter, to a spirited geisha full of courage, to a lady-in-waiting savoring a clandestine meeting — these women’s stories unfold in all their variety, sometimes with unexpected twists.
Written by a noted historical consultant for television dramas, the book presents Edo’s feminine world with clarity, warmth, and humor, as seen through Kunisada’s observant eyes.
Contents
•　The Elegance of Edo Beauties — Basics of hairstyles, makeup, kimono, and obi
•　The Blossoming Generation — Yushima Tenjin, Gohyaku Rakan, and more
•　The Working Generation — Akabane Suitengu, Aoisaka, and more
•　Wives, Mothers, and Career Women — Tenjin, Eitaibashi, and beyond

Author’s Information

Historical consultant. Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1953. Graduated from the Department of Humanities, Faculty of Letters, Senshu University.
After working as a copywriter, commercial director, and TV scriptwriter, she became a specialist in historical research and period accuracy for film and television.