舞妓図|Dancer with a Fan

Unidentified

ca. 1670–80 · Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

With an elegant kimono, gentle facial features enhanced by a powdered complexion, and delicate hands, this figure may appear at first glance to be a female performer frozen in movement. The white kerchief covering the dancer’s hair, however, suggests that this is actually a male youth (wakashu) cross-dressed as a stylish woman. This was a common practice, especially on the Kabuki stage after 1629, when female actors were banned because it was thought that they were using theatrical performances as fronts for prostitution. Here, the wakashu dancer holds a golden folding fan, decorated with the red orb of the sun rising through suzuki grass.

Artist

Unidentified

Date

ca. 1670–80

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2022