In this work, Jacoulet uses the pattern on the subject’s clothing as the focus of the composition — a strategy he repeated in a number of portraits across his career. His private collection of embroideries, bags and other textile objects from his travels, hints at his fascination with not only the beauty of traditional garments but also their ability to impart a sense of the wearer’s history and culture. These boys are believed to have been neighbours of Jacoulet’s in Tokyo. Interestingly, although the artist lived in Japan for most of his life, of the 162 woodblock prints he created, only 31 of these depict his adopted home.