January; Kite and Battledore

January — Kite and Battledore presents two of the traditional New Year's games that filled the skies and streets of old Japan in the first days of the year. Kite flying (takoage) and battledore (hagoita) were among the most visible public activities of the New Year holiday, and their combination in a single composition united two complementary seasonal images: the kite soaring above the city and the battledore-and-shuttlecock game played in the streets below. Mori's rendering would have captured the seasonal festivity and the visual interest of the kites' colorful painted surfaces against winter sky.