Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), A FEMALE COURT DANCER IN A BOAT

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
A Female Court Dancer in a Boat
Hanging scroll, ink on paper, depicting a court dancer (Shirabyoshi) in a boat, signed Hiroshige, sealed Ichiryusai
With later fitted box titled Asazuma-bune zu [Painting of Asazuma-bune]
59.6 x 28.3cm. (painting only)
47.8 x 7.6 x 8cm. (when rolled in box)

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Lot Essay

Shirabyoshi were traditional female court dancers who performed in men's clothes including a tate-eboshi hat of a samurai, red hakama (trousers traditionally worn by men) and a kawahori folding fan (carried by men). Shirabyoshi would perform for high-ranking samurai and at religious ceremonies and were expected to be poets, singers and musicians and in that way comparable to high-ranking courtesans of the pleasure quarters. As such, a shirabyoshi dancer seated in a boat became a visual reference to Asazuma-bune prostitutes who used boats to cross the Asazuma inlet on Lake Biwa near Kyoto and became a popular theme in music, dances and ukiyo-e.