JAPANESE ART > UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > SHIRABYOSHI DANCER

Lot 00750
N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print

Mizuno Toshikata

SHIRABYOSHI DANCER

Year: 1891
Condition: good
Size: 23,5 x 35 cm

SOLD

Fine large vertical format original woodblock print, taken from the series "Thirty-six Elegant Selections" (三十六佳撰) by the artist Mizuno Toshikata (水野年方). The work, produced in 1891 by the publisher Akiyama Buemon (秋山武右衛門), owner of Kokkeido (滑稽堂), is entitled "Shirabyoshi: Woman of the Kenkyu Era" (白拍子 建久頃婦人) and depicts a dancer with a tsuzumi (鼓) hourglass-shaped drum.

Shirabyoshi were female entertainers. Their profession became popular in the 12th century and they performed for the nobility, and at celebrations. In a period of power and social change, a change in fortune for some aristocratic families resulted in the daughters of these families needing to perform as dancers in order to survive. As educated and cultured ladies, they become a superior group of courtesans noted for their singing, dancing and poetry as well as beauty. Shirabyoshi were recognizable for the outfit they would wear, which was Shinto-inspired: it was a man's outfit with a tate eboshi (立烏帽子) hat, red hakama (袴) trousers and a a samurai's sword.

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite some signs of aging, is in good general condition.

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