The Handsome Kemari Player
Artist/Culture
Kiyonaga, Torii
(Japanese, 1752–1815)
Date1782
MediumWoodblock print, ink and color on paper; nishiki-e; hashira-e
Dimensions70 x 11.5 cm (27 9/16 x 4 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection
Object number1901.164
Label Text2005: Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815)
The Handsome Kemari Player
1782
Artist's signature: Kiyonaga ga (drawn by Kiyonaga)
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper; nishiki-e; hashira-e
John Chandler Bancroft Collection, 1901.164
In a reversal of the usual theme of male voyeurism, a woman catches a glimpse of a young dandy and his exposed legs as he plays kemari outside a tall, encircling fence. Kemari is a non-competitive Japanese form of kickball which was traditionally played at the imperial court. It involved about four to eight young noblemen taking turns, and helping each other, to keep a light-weight ball (mari), made of two pieces of deer-hide, high in the air as long as possible.
This print was immediately understood by connoisseurs as a humorous, contemporary parody (mitate) of an episode in chapter thiProvenanceJohn Chandler Bancroft, Boston, MAOn View
Not on view
