women; kimonos; trees; flowers (plants); parasols; shores (landforms); children (people by age group); fishing; boats
Four women on a hillside overlook the pine-covered Ama-no-hashidate sand bar stretching into Miyazu Bay, considered one of Japan's three most scenic views. The woman standing on the left wears a black haori over a blue kimono and holds a closed...
women; children (people by age group); kimonos; candles; candleholders; fusuma
During the Setsubun / "Change of Season" festival held at the end of winter by the lunar calendar, mame-maki / "bean throwing" is accompanied by shouts of "Fuku wa uchi, oni wa soto" / "Good fortune in, demons out!" The beans are usually thrown out...
women; men (male humans); kimonos; folding screens; children (people by age group); flowers (plants); interior spaces; built works
A baby receives his first bath, with his fisherman father Myomeijiro holding a towel, his grandmother at the wooden tub and his mother Umechiyo recovering with a cup of tea. The child would become the Buddhist prelate Nichiren (1222-1282), whose...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); swords; kimonos; waterfalls (natural bodies of water); baskets
The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety are based on a compilation of Confucian tales of exemplary behavior by children to their elders. In this tale, Chi Shun went into the forest to gather mulberries for his widowed mother, throwing the ripe, black...
legends (folk tales); women; men (male humans); kimonos; lanterns (lighting devices); children (people by age group); tables (support furniture); arches
The Nabeshima family, daimyo of Hizen Province, continued to be plagued by a cat monster (see Plates 34-35). According to legend, the mistress of the Lord of Saga Castle was killed by a cat monster that possessed her body and then slowly drained...
women; children (people by age group); bats (animals); trees; built works; bridges (built works)
As three bats / komori circle in the evening sky, two boys try to touch them with bamboo sticks while their mother and baby brother look on. Bats have long been a symbol of good luck in Northeast Asia because the words in Chinese for "bat" and for...
women; children (people by age group); flowers (plants); trees; gardens; kimonos; origami; urns; fusuma
Two children are conversing while folding origami cranes. They sit within a house, before a sliding door, overlooking a garden. To their left is a bamboo trellis and a large ornamental jar, and behind them a cluster of peonies is growing. A women...
children (people by age group); men (male humans); porches; folding screens; trees; flowers (plants); swords; fusuma
According to the inscription on the left side, this composition was originally a painting by Chikanobu that he entered in the Second Painting Competitive Exhibition / Dai ni Kaiga Kyoshinkai held in 1884. The work received the bronze prize and was...
group portrait; princes; women; kimonos; hairstyles; men (male humans); hair ornaments; flowers (plants); swords; toys (recreational artifacts); children (people by age group); banners; blinds (coverings); porches; carriages (vehicles)
The emperor appears at far left dressed in traditional court robes surrounded by his female attendants, some of whom are helping wheel a baby carriage and toy horses into the palace chamber. Being published in May 1878, this seems like a...
women; courtesans; monks; men (male humans); children (people by age group); kimonos; hair ornaments; trees
A famous courtesan of Sakai took the name "Jigoku," meaning "hell," and had images of hell displayed on her robes and on the clothes of her attendants. She exchanged poems with the Zen monk Ikkyu (1394-1481), who frequented brothels as part of his...
women; kimonos; children (people by age group); snow (precipitation); trees; hats
Tokiwa gozen had to flee Kyoto in the dead of winter after her husband Minamoto no Yoshitomo (1123-60) was murdered and their home pillaged. (See Plate 55) Here she clasps to her chest their youngest son Ushiwaka, wrapped in orange brocade; he will...
women; men (male humans); children (people by age group); kimonos; trees; built complexes and districts; hairstyles; hair ornaments
A family returns from the Shinto shrine of Kanda Myojin where they have received blessings for their children, including the baby wrapped in a purple cloak decorated with auspicious symbols. The young boy carries a packet of "1000 year candy" /...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); kimonos; snow (precipitation); parasols; lanterns (lighting devices); hats; baskets; sandals
The famous thief Nezumi Kozo, the "Little Rat Kozo" of Edo, disguised as Takasaki Beian, stands outside an inn talking with a young boy, the clam seller Sankichi. Kozo was a "Robin Hood" type character, eventually caught and executed in 1835.
courtesans; trees; flowers (plants); women; children (people by age group); men (male humans); kimonos; Single Built Works; hairstyles; hair ornaments
An elegantly dressed Yoshiwara courtesan looks on while a little boy, held by his mother, ties a poem sheet to a blossoming branch. A servant peeks from behind a broken umbrella, and two men dance in the background.
courtesans; women; kimonos; hairstyles; hair ornaments; fans (costume accessories); children (people by age group); lanterns (lighting devices); tables (support furniture); porches; men (male humans)
A Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarters courtesan named Takao looks out at the moon and the bird flying by, thinking perhaps of her lover. Her costume and hairstyle closely resemble that the 17th century Takao portrayed by Yoshitoshi in his series "One...
women; courtesans; men (male humans); children (people by age group); snow (precipitation); swords; trees; hats; sandals; Built complexes and districts
The Yoshiwara courtesan Urazato had a child by Tokijiro, but the Yamana-ya brothel owner forbid Urazato from seeing her lover, according to the kabuki play Akegarasu Hana no Nureginu. On a snowy evening, Urazato goes into the garden to meet...
women; courtesans; men (male humans); swords; kimonos; children (people by age group); screens (furniture); fusuma; snow (precipitation); built works
The little boy Yokichi has heard that his sister Otaki, who was sold into prostitution, has committed suicide, and he comes to the Arimaya brothel to find out more information.
women; children (people by age group); kimonos; leaf (plant material); cups
On an autumn outing, this boy holds tightly to his balloon string and his mother's fingers. He looks straight out at the viewer, and his smiling face suggests he could be a real handful. His mother has a firm grip on him, though, as she enjoys the...
women; children (people by age group); infants; kimonos; books; fans (costume accessories); toys (recreational artifacts)
Seven children are shown amidst toys, games and books. Two girls play ayatori / "string pulling" or cat's cradle, while a young lad looks at pictures of samurai / "warriors." An inu haiku / papier mache dog is at right, next to a fan, drum and...
women; kimonos; flowers (plants); tables (support furniture); calligraphy; hairstyles; hair ornaments; teapots; children (people by age group); swords; figurines
While Japan has many national and regional celebrations, five festivals / gosseku were given particular importance. Chikanobu presents them from right to left: the New Year Festival / Oshogatsu when special gifts are offered on footed trays of...
