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Wakashu (Male Youth) Dancer with a Fan

ca. 1670–80
Not on view
With an elegant kimono, gentle facial features enhanced by a powdered complexion, and delicate hands, this figure may appear at first glance to be a female performer frozen in movement. The white kerchief covering the dancer’s hair, however, suggests that this is actually a male youth (wakashu) cross-dressed as a stylish woman. This was a common practice, especially on the Kabuki stage after 1629, when female actors were banned because it was thought that they were using theatrical performances as fronts for prostitution. Here, the wakashu dancer holds a golden folding fan, decorated with the red orb of the sun rising through suzuki grass.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 舞妓図　若衆図
  • Title: Wakashu (Male Youth) Dancer with a Fan
  • Artist: Unidentified Artist
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1670–80
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 33 1/16 × 10 7/8 in. (84 × 27.6 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 64 × 15 5/8 in. (162.6 × 39.7 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.432.13
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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