Set sometime in the late 19th century, a woman in a colorful kimono gazes contemplatively out into the hazy distance. She stands with hips jutted out and hair pulled back into a loose bun, and I wonder, who is she? Why is she alone? Like most of the painted bijin-ga—a term that generalizes beautiful women—of the Miji period, we will likely never know much more about her or other East Asian women beyond their painted depictions. The truth behind her stoic gaze will go unanswered, which is ironic and almost sad, since these women were revered by poets, writers, and artists alike over several centuries. They served as the muse…