The Twenty-sixth Night at Takanawa

Catalog note / 解説

The view is this <i>uchiwa-e</i> (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is set in the northern part of the Takanawa district in southern Edo, where buildings lined both sides of the Tokaido Highway. The characters on the paper lanterns indicate that this is a geisha administrative office being used by the three courtesans for a practice session. The woman in the centre is dressed as an itinerant female dancer, while those on the right prepare to accompany her with a shoulder drum and <i>shamisen</i>. On the left is a stage prop in the form of a cut-out boat, and on the floor to the right is a pair of wooden clappers of the sort used in the widely popular kabuki theatre. These, the dancer's c…