Single Built Works; gardens; bridges (built works); women; men (male humans); kimonos; hairstyles; hair ornaments; helmets; swords; halberds
Yaegaki-hime dances at center holding the sacred helmet known as the Suwa hossho or "Suwa's unchanging essence," given by the kami or deities of Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture to the Takeda clan. In the kabuki theater repertoire, this is considered...
Akoya, an entertainer in Kyoto’s Kiyomizu zaka pleasure quarters, was mistress to the Heike warrior Taira Kagekiyo (died 1196), who was captured at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185 but had escaped. The Genji commander ordered Hatakeyama Shigetada...
Princess Chujo was asked to safeguard a statue of Kannon. Her wicked stepmother Iwane gozen stole the image and then accused Chujo of losing it. Here Chujo is being attacked by Lady Kasuga, using a tobacco pipe, and another woman, who succeed in...
warriors; kimonos; hats; swords; fans (costume accessories); women
The Heike warrior Taira Kagekiyo (died 1196) had been captured at Dan-no-ura but escaped and was hunted down by Hatakeyama Shigetada (1164-1205). Shigetada blinded Kagekiyo and imprisoned him in a cave. Despite repeated tortures, Kagekiyo continued...
Moonlight gives a soft pink glow to the cherry blossoms and falling petals. The woman at center carries a woven bamboo lantern that also shines up into the tree limbs. The breeze that caused a cascade of petals has also touched her sleeves to sway,...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); kimonos; flowers (plants); vases; cabinets (case furniture); books; tables (support furniture); works of art
When Lu Ji was six years old, he traveled with his father to visit the Chief Minister of Nan Yang. The minister ordered his servants to bring a dish of oranges to offer to the young boy. Lu Ji secreted the fruit away in the sleeve of his robe. When...
women; kimonos; trees; flowers (plants); bamboo; bridges (built works); built works
The famous poet Ki no Tsuruyuki (died 945) had an old plum tree, a family treasure, in his garden on the outskirts of Kyoto / Rakugai. When Emperor Murakami needed to replace a red plum at the palace, he sent his gardeners to take the Ki's tree,...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); caves; bats (animals)
While hunting with the shogun, the 12th-century samurai Nitta Shirō Tadatsune distinguished himself by seizing and killing a wounded boar about to attack the shogun. A couple of days later, Tadatsune was walking on Mt. Fuji, and he and his...
acrobats; men (male humans); children (people by age group); boys; girls
According to this poster the Chiarini Italian Circus group would be performing at Akihabara in the Kanda District of Tokyo from the first of September 1886. While Japan had a long tradition of jugglers, acrobats and other circus-like public...
