Cleveland Museum of Art

Binzasara, A Dance with Clappers (From the series Entertainments at the Height of the Niwaka Festival in the Pleasure Quarters)

Eishōsai Chōki

Date: early 1790s
Medium: color woodblock print
Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Department: Japanese Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

During the eighth lunar month of each year the geisha of the pleasure quarters would form themselves into groups and proceed around the quarter performing dances and skits. It seems likely that woodblock prints featuring the Niwaka Festival were purchased as souvenirs of the occasion. The Binzasara is a ritual dance related to agriculture and fertility performed during the month of May. Agricultural deities are addressed by the use of flowered hats and binzasara clappers.

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