A baby leans forward with one hand holding its mother’s kimono at the neck, and the mother holds the baby tight in her arms with an affectionate gaze. One common scene in everyday life has been elevated to a noble mother-and-child painting. Her mother’s death made Shoen often turn to the subject of motherhood. With this memorable piece first shown at the Imperial Academy’s art exhibition in autumn of the year of her mother’s death, Shoen broke new ground in her later years. Her portrayal of the skin, chignons and clothes shows her sensitivity and techniques that the painter acquired producing bijinga (‘pictures of beautiful women’).

(Designated an Important Cultural Property on June 27, 2011)