
Staff-Waving Dance
- Date:
- c. 1790
- Medium:
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 21.1 × 15.3 cm
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
A performer executes a staff-waving dance (bo-furi) in full motion, the long staff blurred with movement in this nishiki-e brocade print from around 1790. The bo-furi dance was performed by street entertainers and theatrical troupes as a crowd-pleasing acrobatic display, and Hokusai captures the kinetic energy of the spinning staff with a compositional confidence that anticipates the dynamic figure studies of his later Manga sketchbooks.
More Prints by Katsushika Hokusai
Hokusai manga (Hokusai Sketchbooks)
19th century
Woodblock-printed book; ink and light color on paper

Fukuroi
1804
Japanese woodblock print

The Fishermen of Katase Hauling in Their Nets: The Purple Shell (Murasakigai)
1821
Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban

Burdock Root (Kurama gobo), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
More Music Prints
Frequently Asked Questions
Staff-Waving Dance was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in c. 1790.
Staff-Waving Dance depicts music.
Staff-Waving Dance measures 21.1 × 15.3 cm (Oban format).



