Boy performing a Narihira Dance
date: label: Date
content: late 17th century
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Style of Iwasa Matabei (1578-1650)
notes: label: School/Tradition
content: Ukiyo-e
label: Label
content: These two paintings (see also F1903.61) are sections from a late-seventeenth-century handscroll by an unidentified painter. In one, a boy performs a so-called Narihira odori (Narihira dance), in which the dancer enacts the role of the poet, nobleman, and romantic hero Ariwara no Narihira (825-880). Narihira dances, which feature an elegant costume with a courtier's hat, were often performed by boys and young men in early-seventeenth-century kabuki. In the other painting, a monkey performs a dance to entertain a mother and her children.
label: Provenance
content: To 1903
label: Provenance
content: Yamanaka & Company, to 1903 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1903 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in March 1903 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] Undated folder sheet note. Also see Voucher no. 40, March 1903, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Painting the Classics: Japanese Scrolls and Beyond (November 17, 2018 to October 20, 2019)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Arts in the Edo Period: 1615-1868, part 1 (August 18, 2007 to February 24, 2008)
label: Exhibition History
content: The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Paintings and Prints (December 8, 2002 to May 26, 2003)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: dancing
label: Topic
content: child
label: Topic
content: man
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: ukiyo-e
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
label: Topic
content: dancer
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1903.60
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink, color and gold on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 28.5 × 33.8 cm (11 1/4 × 13 5/16 in)