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| Eizan: Geisha Playing the Hand-Game Kitsune-ken |
Kikugawa Eizan (1787-1867) studied under Utamaro and in certain circles he is seen as a plagiarist of his master with little originality of his own. This is not true. Although Eizan builds on Utamaro's style, he developed it further. With him, classical bijinga reaches its peak and its end; what's coming after him introduces new artistic elements, alien to original ukiyo-e.
The picture is a triptych, Geisha Playing the Hand-Game Kitsune-ken, from about 1820.
Kitsune-ken is a game similar to rock-paper-scissors. From left to right we see Village head [庄屋 shōya], which wins over the Hunter; Fox [狐 kitsune], which wins over the Village Head; and Hunter [猟師 ryōshi], which wins over the Fox.