Hanga
Staff-Waving Dance by Katsushika Hokusai — Japanese Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper, c. 1790

Staff-Waving Dance

by Katsushika Hokusai

Date:
c. 1790
Medium:
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Format:
Oban
Dimensions:
21.1 × 15.3 cm

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.

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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).