Mitsui Gonomi Miyako no Nishiki

In 1893, the Mitsui Department Store, now known as Mitsukoshi, commissioned Mizuno Toshikata to design a series of woodblock prints to advertise their modern kimono collection.

The series was titled Mitsui Gonomi Miyako no Nishiki (“Mitsui’s Brocades of the Capital”), and the second edition, released by the publisher Akiyama Buemon in 1905, also featured an English title, The Seasons and Their Fashions, which describes its concept perfectly.

In 12 scenes, with a set of three dedicated to each season, Toshikata shows young ladies and children in casual activities, aptly dressed for the time of year.

This approach echoed the seasonal theme used in classic ukiyo-e works that are familiar to their audience. At the same time, it allowed Toshikata to showcase a wide range of Mitsukoshi designs and patterns.

In a scene set in early spring, we see schoolgirls gathering on the balcony of a Western-style building, neatly dressed in hakama, which became the standard outfit for female students in the Meiji period. In another, two friends in light kimonos enjoy the cool summer breeze by the lake. In another summer scene, titled Keeping off Cloth-Moths, we see two women diligently hanging clothes to air, a practice called doyo-boshi, to prevent them from becoming moldy or attracting insects. The last, On a Look Out for a New Season Dress at Mitsui Gofukuten [sic], shows a lady and her daughter seated at a table inspecting samples, while a companion standing beside them surveys the Victorian-style room decorated with oriental carpets and pendulum clocks.Through these beautifully detailed prints, Toshikata captures the fashions of contemporary Japanese women in the Meiji period and offers a glimpse into their daily lives — or, perhaps, Mitsukoshi's ideal image of an affluent, fashion-conscious lady. In these scenes, we also see Western-style accessories, architecture and furniture that reflect the growing Western influence on Japanese society in the late 19th century.