Celebrating Dancing at Court
1917
Ikai Shokoku 猪飼 嘯谷 (Japanese, 1881–1939)
Japan
Ikai Shokoku painted scenes representing Japanese tradition, specifically classical court life. In this large, detailed image of a lone dancer in a court ceremony, he has juxtaposed a modern sense of realism with traditional attire. The dancer wears the junihitoe (twelve-layered kimono) favored by female courtiers in the Heian period (794–1185), when Japan’s classical court culture flourished.
Hanging scroll; ink, colors, and gold on silk