Konami of the Kurahashiya in the Front Group of Musicians (Saki-bayashi), from the series Costume Parade of the Shinmachi Quarter in Osaka (Ōsaka Shinmachi nerimono)

Yanagawa Shigenobu 柳川重信

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The courtesan Konami of the Kurahashiya Brothel in Osaka has draped a feather cloak over her shoulders and dons a glittering floral crown. She holds a pair of drumsticks, for she is serving as a percussionist on a float that carries the first group of musicians (saki-bayashi) leading a costume parade in the Shinmachi licensed quarter. Such parades were held each year in the late summer in the early nineteenth century. Her garb recalls the legend of Hagoromo, a folktale also turned into a Noh play, that relates the story of a fisherman who finds the magical feather cloak of a tennin (an angel-like celestial spirit) hanging on the bough of a tree and requests her to dance for him before he returns it.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art