Amusements in a Mansion mid-17th century Japan These marvelously detailed screen paintings convey the spirit of an age when warfare had subsided and the warrior elite commissioned deluxe images of themselves at leisure. Hosts and their invited escorts enjoy amusements of every variety, including musical performances, card playing, dancing, and strolling in an elaborately landscaped garden with a miniature Mount Fuji. A notable feature of this painting, which includes more than 140 elegantly garbed figures, is that the wealthy male hosts are joined not only by courtesans and female entertainers
Amusements in a Mansion mid-17th century Japan These marvelously detailed screen paintings convey the spirit of an age when warfare had subsided and the warrior elite commissioned deluxe images of themselves at leisure. Hosts and their invited escorts enjoy amusements of every variety, including musical performances, card playing, dancing, and strolling in an elaborately landscaped garden with a miniature Mount Fuji. A notable feature of this painting, which includes more than 140 elegantly garbed figures, is that the wealthy male hosts are joined not only by courtesans and female entertainers (as was common in genre paintings of the period) but also by young male escorts called wakashu, dressed in garments as sumptuous as those donned by the women. Young men make up well over half of the figures depicted in the Amusements in a Mansion. Japan. mid-17th century. Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper. Edo period (1615–1868). Screens
Size: 4000px × 1672px
Photo credit: © MET/BOT / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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