Binzasara, A Dance with Clappers (From the series Entertainments at the Height of the Niwaka Festival in the Pleasure Quarters) (early 1790s): Art, History and Details

Binzasara, A Dance with Clappers (From the series Entertainments at the Height of the Niwaka Festival in the Pleasure Quarters) (early 1790s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Eishōsai Chōki (Japanese).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Binzasara, A Dance with Clappers (From the series Entertainments at the Height of the Niwaka Festival in the Pleasure Quarters)
• Date: early 1790s
• Creator attribution: Eishōsai Chōki (Japanese)
• Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
• Type: Print
• Technique: color woodblock print
• Dimensions: Sheet: 24.5 x 18.2 cm (9 5/8 x 7 3/16 in.)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1930.174

Collection credit

Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.