PLATES XLI, XLII, XLIII, XLIV
The Festivals of the Months
New Year's Day. The entrances of the house on the left side are decorated with the reguhir symbols of New Year's Day, pine and bamboo. Two men wearing broad toga-like robes are the Manzai dancers, a regular feature of the occasion. Boys are playing with bows and arrows, while girls inside the enclosure on the right side are playing hago-ita, a kind of battledore and shuttlecock. See p. 348.
The Japanese May Day, the day for boys. Dolls representing legendary heroes are set forth in the house in the centre, and miniature weapons are placed outside. In one of the flags there is the figure of Shoki, the devil-hunter (See p. 285) while a doll on the top of another flag pole represents Shojo, the mythical orang-outang-like being. See p. 273. The festival was observed on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, now on May 5th. See p. 349.
The two pictures are taken from a series of the festivals of the twelve months drawn on a pair of screens.
By Itcho (1652—1724), who adopted his art of the classical school to genre paintings. In possession of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Tortoise and Crane, the Symbols of Longevity and Prosperity
Note that these animals represented for emblematic purposes are combined with the plants symbolizing the same qualities. See pp. 348-349, 363-370.
By Ganko, an artist of the Kano school. In possession of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
