Dancers on stage, by Yashima Gakutei

An image of Dancers on stage. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing, circa 1820-circa 1823. Ukiyo-e. Poetry by Suihotei Komatsu and Hisakataya(?). Notes: From the five-sheet series Hisakaya furuichi odori (The Dance at Furuichi for the Hisakataya Group) which forms a continuous view of nine geisha and a buffoon dancing on a wooden causeway at right angles to the main stage. The geisha are from the Gissharo (‘ox-drawn carriage’) house in the town of Furuichi, located between the shrines of Yamada and Uji. It was a favourite stopping place for travellers making the pilgrimage to the Great Shrines of Ise, which became very popular in the 1820s. The emblem of the house, a carriage-wheel, appears in the prints. In the first poem the word for ‘flowers’ means both ‘cherry blossoms’ and ‘beautiful women’: ‘Evening at Furuichi is like the Yoshino Mountains; the sight of the flowers is like a thousand gold coins.’ ‘As the maidens dance, will the breeze also pirouette among the cherry blossoms?’

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Dancers on stage. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing, circa 1820-circa 1823. Ukiyo-e. Poetry by Suihotei Komatsu and Hisakataya(?). Notes: From the five-sheet series Hisakaya furuichi odori (The Dance at Furuichi for the Hisakataya Group) which forms a continuous view of nine geisha and a buffoon dancing on a wooden causeway at right angles to the main stage. The geisha are from the Gissharo (‘ox-drawn carriage’) house in the town of Furuichi, located between the shrines of Yamada and Uji. It was a favourite stopping place for travellers making the pilgrimage to the Great Shrines of Ise, which became very popular in the 1820s. The emblem of the house, a carriage-wheel, appears in the prints. In the first poem the word for ‘flowers’ means both ‘cherry blossoms’ and ‘beautiful women’: ‘Evening at Furuichi is like the Yoshino Mountains; the sight of the flowers is like a thousand gold coins.’ ‘As the maidens dance, will the breeze also pirouette among the cherry blossoms?’

Image data

Accession Number: P.283-1937
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/20.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H4D-31
Photographer name: Sam Cole
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 913 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 1.11MB
Exposure time: 1/250
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 20/1
Captured: 2017:09:04 10:19:35

Key words

19th Century acting actor actors blind embossing colour printing costume dance dancers dancing Edo Period embossed embossing female Fitz_PDP Furuichi Gakutei geisha hair hairstyle Japan Japanese kanzashi hairpin karazuri ladies lady lantern metallic pigment paper lantern performance performer performing pigment poem poetry poets print role stage surimono theatre theatrical ukiyo-e woman women woodblock woodcut Yashima Gakutei

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2026)
            "Dancers on stage, by Yashima Gakutei"
            Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-218361 Accessed: 2026-01-05 04:43:01

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