「大坂新町ねりもの　先はやし　くらはしや　小なみ」|Konami of the Kurahashiya in the Front Group of Musicians (Saki-bayashi), from the series Costume Parade of the Shinmachi Quarter in Osaka (Ōsaka Shinmachi nerimono)

Yanagawa Shigenobu 柳川重信

1822 · Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban · Asian Art

「大坂新町ねりもの　先はやし　くらはしや　小なみ」|Konami of the Kurahashiya in the Front Group of Musicians (Saki-bayashi), from the series Costume Parade of the Shinmachi Quarter in Osaka (Ōsaka Shinmachi nerimono) — Yanagawa Shigenobu 柳川重信

The courtesan Konami of the Kurahashiya Brothel in Osaka has draped a feather cloak over her shoulders and dons a glittering floral crown. She holds a pair of drumsticks, for she is serving as a percussionist on a float that carries the first group of musicians (saki-bayashi) leading a costume parade in the Shinmachi licensed quarter. Such parades were held each year in the late summer in the early nineteenth century. Her garb recalls the legend of Hagoromo, a folktale also turned into a Noh play, that relates the story of a fisherman who finds the magical feather cloak of a tennin (an angel-like celestial spirit) hanging on the bough of a tree and requests her to dance for him before he returns it.

Artist: Yanagawa Shigenobu 柳川重信
Date: 1822
Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban
Culture: Japan
Department: Asian Art
Credit line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2020

「大坂新町ねりもの 先はやし くらはしや 小なみ」|Konami of the Kurahashiya in the Front Group of Musicians (Saki-bayashi), from the series Costume Parade of the Shinmachi Quarter in Osaka (Ōsaka Shinmachi nerimono)

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「大坂新町ねりもの　先はやし　くらはしや　小なみ」|Konami of the Kurahashiya in the Front Group of Musicians (Saki-bayashi), from the series Costume Parade of the Shinmachi Quarter in Osaka (Ōsaka Shinmachi nerimono)