women; men (male humans); kimonos; banners; sandals; headgear
In the 11th month, the Tori no Ichi Festival is held at the Hanamata Washi Daimyojin Shinto Shrine of the Buddhist temple of Chokoku-ji. An important image at the temple, popular with actors and courtesans, depicts Myoken, Bodhisattva of the North...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); kimonos; trees; lanterns (lighting devices)
The 10-11th century poet Izumi Shikibu and her daughter KoShikibu (d. 1025) were visiting Kitano Shrine in Kyoto and noticed a painting / ema of a bird. The young girl spontaneously composed a poem, which reportedly made the pictured bird begin to...
An image of monsters coming out of a basket, threatening an old man. An old man and an old woman were neighbors. Every evening the old man fed a sparrow that visited him. When he returned home one day he was disturbed not to see the sparrow and...
actors; built works; trees; men (male humans); kimonos; hats; hair ornaments; flowers; arrows; bells (idiophones); swords
Actors gather outside the main hall of the Ooku residential area to give a special performance for the new year on the first "horse day" of the 2nd month (according to the zodiac calendar). One actor carries a hunting bird while another actor is...
Emperors; courts (social groups); fountains; kimonos; military uniforms; lanterns (lighting devices); flags; trees; Built complexes and districts; clock towers; bands (ensembles)
The emperor and court ladies stand between two fountains that flank the entry into the Ueno Park compound housing the Second National Industrial Exhibition that was open to the public from 01 March to 30 June 1881. Such fairs followed European and...
In these two illustrations of Murasaki, the artists have worked in very different styles. Masanobu uses the stylized clouds and bird's-eye-view of the traditional Tosa School of Japanese painting (yamato-e), while Chikanobu creates more...
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; 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...
