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The Five Festivals - Spring Festival

Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1849, Wood cut
The Five Festivals - Spring Festival
The Five Festivals - Spring Festival
The Five Festivals - Spring Festival
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Category
Library Item
Item no
336
Title
Untitled series referencing The Five Seasonal Festivals, Spring Festival, January and March - the 1st and 3rd Months (Go sekku no uchi)
Description
Unidentified dance drama featuring characters associated with the New Year celebrations. The female character who ceremoniously pulls up small pines is played by a male Kabuki actor, and wears highly decorative theatrical costume. The textile design is made up of auspicious symbols: Shinto sacred ropes (shimenawa), Shinto folded paper offerings (gohei), evergreen pines and lobsters (the lobster's curved back suggested old age and longevity). Upon her fan lies a branch of pine, one of the three 'Gentleman Scholar's Winter Friends' that symbolized hope, perseverance and endurance during the winter months.
The male character, dressed as a Yabusame, rides a pantomime horse and carries a bow and arrows. Shooting an arrow was one of the ceremonial 'Firsts' that took place at the beginning of the New Year. There is also a reference in the print to the early approach of Children's Day (the 3rd day of the 3rd month).
Artist / maker
Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
Date
1849
Size
37 x 29 cm.
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
Rights and purchasing
Option
Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG
£5.80(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF
£29.40(inc. VAT 20%)
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