Japanese woodblock print or Ukiyo-e One Hundred Aspects of the Moon – No 51, Lady Gosechi
An image showing courtiers from the Heian period (794–1185) listening to a female courtier play the koto 琴, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. The music moves her to tears. A blanket covers the woman, so we see only her hand and part of her face. The print most probably depicts one of the women who worked for people of high social status in the period mentioned, and whose job was to be at the emperor’s disposal to attend to his needs. This is also a play on words, as one of the words in the title of the work, gosechi 五節, means the five events or festivals that took place when the harvested rice was offered to the gods, featuring special dances performed by selected beauties. At the same time, in music it means five bars. What is special about this collection is that Yoshitoshi included the image of the moon in each of the hundred prints, including this one. (KH, JR)
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