Page 177 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

87 QO reference. Seasonal activities and
OO
Tray with scene of men pulling a Occupations and Actiuities of wares for sale are also interspersed
foundation stone Each Month with year-round occupations in the
bustling roadways. Two circle dances
Seventeenth century Mid-eighteenth century mark events in the second and sev-
Lacquer on wood with makie Pair of six-panel screens; ink,
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3
3
32.7 x 51.8 x 3.5 (12 /8 x 20 /s x 1 /s) color, and gold on paper enth months, and a line dance is per-
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1
Tokyo National Museum Each 79.4 x 235.8 (31 U x 92 /s) formed in the sixth month. Masses of
street performers, itinerant monks,
The Sakai Museum, Osaka
Illustrated page 157 hawkers, and tinkers are mixed in
Illustrated pages 158-159 with children playing games to cele-
• This rectangular tray has a broad, brate the seasons. The screens also
i 6 raised, ribbonlike rim, inverted at • Boisterous crowds engaged in a vast depict a wide variety of animal life.
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array of occupations, celebrations,
face
the corners. The design on the
This painting was rendered by an
shows samurai observing workers and entertainments fill this pair of anonymous town artist working in a
hauling an enormous foundation screens from corner to corner. The style related to that of the Tosa
stone mounted on a wheeled cart. A subject is unusual for its mix of the school. He added gold lines within
figure standing atop the stone waves theme of tradesmen with that of
costume outlines and showed the full
a Shinto paper offering to direct the monthly festivals and ceremonies. spectrum of textile techniques and
men on foot. The activities on each screen are architectural types to imbue this
arranged in an upper and a lower reg-
The decorative techniques include screen with richness and luxurious
ister, each with a row of buildings
densely applied gold dust for a metal- fronting a street. Each month occupies detail. Occupation screens from the
lic appearance (togidashi), gold lines, the top or bottom of two adjacent early Edo period devoted a great deal
reserve drawing (kakiwari), as well of attention to details of the materials
panels. Reading from upper right to
as needle drawing (harigaki). On the lower left: the first, second, and third needed for each craft and to the
reverse of the rim are eight sets of lunar months run along the top of the organization of each shop interior. By
two interlocking family crests, indi- the mid-eighteenth century much
right screen, and the fourth, fifth, and
cating that the tray might have come sixth are arranged below. The remain- greater emphasis was given to the
from a wedding trousseau. division of labor and range of possible
ing six months similarly fill the left
specialties, making a mid-eighteenth
Trays of this form were used to hold screen.
century date likely for this pair of
utensils for incense (Watt and Ford Every level of occupation is shown, screens. HG
1991, 230). The design of large figures including craftsmen who create
against a relatively plain background
stringed instruments, floral arrange-
indicates a date in the seventeenth ments, and bonsai in the sixth month,
century. The theme supports this masseuses and prostitutes in the
date; images of workmen gained pop-
fourth month. Some shops are placed
ularity in lacquer and other art forms in a month related to their business:
in the sixteenth and seventeenth for example, doll and doll-furniture
centuries, when massive campaigns
makers are in the third month, when
were launched to build castles and the Girl's Festival occurs, and chry-
surrounding towns. HG
santhemum sellers are in the ninth
month, when their wares are the floral
standard of the season. Others— such
as the weavers, dyers, and stitchery
artists shown in the tenth month —
are not connected with a seasonal

88 (detail)