Shinkai Taketaro studied sculpture in Germany and aimed to merge Western techniques and Eastern subjects. This is a pioneering nude sculpture in Japan that Shinkai sent to the first Bunten (Ministry of Education Fine Arts Exhibition). Using a Japanese model in a reserved pose with a Tempyo-style chignon and a thin cloth in her hand, the piece shows a human body idealized in a European fashion. It exemplifies marriage of Japanese and Western art in a neat, graceful figure.

(The plaster designated an Important Cultural Property on June 27, 2000)