Depicting a girl playing the traditional New Year's game of hanetsuki, this print bridges cultural tradition and modern sensibility. Available for $200-$600 in standard editions, it represents Kasamatsu's occasional forays into genre scenes. The seasonal specificity of the battledore game gives this print particular appeal around the New Year period at auction.
A girl plays hanetsuki — the traditional New Year's game similar to badminton, played with a decorated wooden paddle called a hagoita and a shuttlecock — the paddle swung in the bright cold of a winter holiday. The game was especially associated with the New Year season and with girls' play, making it a subject rich in seasonal and cultural significance. Kasamatsu renders the girl in the motion of play, the hagoita raised and the shuttlecock at the apex of its trajectory in a composition that captures kinetic joy.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Girl Playing Battledore was created by Shiro Kasamatsu (笠松紫浪).
Girl Playing Battledore uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on woodblock print.
Girl Playing Battledore was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Girl Playing Battledore depicts music, children, and daily life.
