3 bijin - Izakaya

The izakaya is a Japanese bar very appreciated for its conviviality. Women as well as men go there to have fun after work, to relax. Sake, beer, small dishes, ... Everything you need!

I was inspired by the beautiful women drawn by the Japanese artist Utamaro. He took as models 3 women with frivolous morals, whose beauty was without equal. They are called jewels: beautiful women. A style of ukiyo-e, the bijinga, dedicates this art to the drawing of beautiful women.

Here, the 3 women in kimono are at the bar: the oldest one takes care of the izakaya and wipes a plate. She is the owner of the place. The woman on the right and the one on the left are drinking a beer after an exhausting day. With a cigarette in their mouths, we see something that was hardly acceptable a century ago: women at the bar, like salarymen in Tokyo after a day's work. Cigarettes show the independence of the past (whereas today, the one who smokes is the one who destroys his health).

The place of women is therefore not representative of the Utamaro era! It is much more representative of the contemporary era and of the place of women on an equal footing with men.