Posted by Dan (24.58.6.220) on September 19, 2004 at 18:03:51:
In Reply to: Re: Unknown Yoshitoshi series title posted by Hans Olof Johansson on September 19, 2004 at 14:14:23:
Hi Noel and Hans Olof,
I agree with Hans Olof that these are almost certainly calculated puns, not simply random transcriptions. "Nichi/hi" + "Onna/jo/me" would imply "Japanese women". "Hi" [compare] + "Me" [buy] might also have some particular reference to the subject of the print, though that's hard to say without seeing it. This kind of word play is common in Japanese book titles, and late Edo series (one that springs to mind is the "I-Ro-Ha" kabuki set by Kunisada, with title written about a dozen different ways).
By the way, "hime" can mean princess, but in the Edo Period it didn't imply any connection to royalty, so the generic "women" Andrew gave or the "noblewomen" Noel gave are probably better translations.