Round Box with Design of Bugaku Dance Hat and Musical Instrument

Round Box with Design of Bugaku Dance Hat and Musical Instrument

Yamada Jōkasai (1681–1704)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The meticulously crafted images of a brocade hat and mouth organ that adorn this box resonate multiple auspicious associations. The hat bears a medallion depicting a phoenix, and its shape suggests the head of this fabled bird of ancient Chinese legend, said to appear only during a just reign. It is worn in the Bugaku dance Manzairaku (Happiness of Ten Thousand Years) by dancers whose graceful movements in large-sleeved robes of brilliant red evoke the appearance of the phoenix. The shape of the mouth organ resembles a phoenix resting with folded wings, and its tone lends an ethereal harmony to the dance's musical accompaniment. Together they signal the august aura of the imperial court and the legacy of ancient China, where these legends, dances, and music originated.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Round Box with Design of Bugaku Dance Hat and Musical InstrumentRound Box with Design of Bugaku Dance Hat and Musical InstrumentRound Box with Design of Bugaku Dance Hat and Musical InstrumentRound Box with Design of Bugaku Dance Hat and Musical InstrumentRound Box with Design of Bugaku Dance Hat and Musical Instrument

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.