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An elderly woman with suntanned skin sits with one knee raised, staring into the distance. Her white hair is fixed upward with a traditional Okinawan hairpin called a jiifa, and she is wearing an indigo-dyed kimono opened wide at the front with her sleeves rolled up. She is wearing the traditional hajichi on the back of her hands, a type of tattoo that was once a unique Okinawan custom.

Two little children are sitting beside the elderly woman, wearing bingata kimonos dyed with colorful patterns.

Behind them, lush green vegetation evocative of the southern islands can be seen, and beyond that, you can see a row of Okinawa’s uniquely shaped turtle-shell tombs.

Foujita visited Okinawa in 1938. By that time, he had already made a name for himself as a painter in Paris. In this work, Foujita used his keen powers of observation to depict Okinawan people and scenery, combining motifs that are resonant of Okinawa. This work clearly conveys Foujita’s impression of Okinawa.

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