Monkey Dance Under White Plum Blossoms (pair with Lion Dance, 1987/1.363.1)

Description

Lion Dance under Cherry Blossoms (left)
Monkey Dance under White Plum Blossoms (right)
Japan
Edo period (1615–1868)
1730s–40s
Pair of six-panel folding screens, ink, color, and gold pigment on paper
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art
Collection Fund, 1987/1.363.1–2

In these screens, an unknown artist has captured the essential
details of folk dance performances as they likely occurred
on the streets of Kyoto in the eighteenth century. In one, a
monkey and his handlers give a private performance for a
young samurai (a member of the ruling military class) and
his retainers. Monkey dances were associated with New Year’s
festivities and in samurai households they were commissioned
to protect horses.
In the other screen, the lion dance—which has ancient origins
in central Asia and was associated with religious festivals—is
performed. The lion’s movements were thought to drive away
evil spirits. Dancers would accompany shrine processions or
go house to house to offer their protection. Over the course
of the Edo period, this form of entertainment became more
secularized. In both screens, touches of gold pigment in
the garments suggest the relative wealth and status of the
characters.