Art Institute of Chicago

Meiji Dance Recital

Sessei

Date

1880s

Medium

Color woodblock print; surimono

Culture

Japan

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

In this print, a musical dance performance takes place on temple grounds under flowering cherry trees. At center stage, a dancer goes through her steps to the accompaniment of three musicians, playing flute, drum, and shamisen . At this spring performance, new members of the dancing and musical schools are presented to the public (just as they are in Japan to this day). Inscriptions on the print provide the names of the two young women who are being presented, Ishida Sen and Ishida Tami, perhaps sisters or members of the same establishment. Similar presentation surimono , created to highlight new, promising students, were made from the mid-19th century onward. This is a relatively late example and noteworthy for the use of Western aniline dyes and for the incorporation of Western elements like the gentleman at the bottom right.

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