月波の遊び・「四月中の申の 日山王日吉祭」; 「八月朔日松尾に相撲あり」|Festivities of the Twelve Months: “Sannō Hiyoshi Festivals Held on the Day of the Monkey in the Mid-Fourth Month”; Festivities of the Twelve Months: “Sumō Wrestling at Matsuno’o Shrine during the Hassaku Festival on the First Day of the Eighth Month”
Unknown Artist
early 18th century
Medium
Two handscrolls; ink, color and gold on paper
Dimensions
Image (a): 13 1/8 in. × 37 ft. 11/16 in. (33.3 × 1129.5 cm) Image (b): 13 1/8 in. × 36 ft. 10 7/8 in. (33.3 × 1124.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Accession Number
2015.300.153a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
These magnificent handscrolls, created by an unknown artist in early 18th-century Japan during the vibrant Edo period (16151868), capture the joyous festivities of the Twelve Months series. Titled *Tsukiyo no Asobi* ("Moonlit Play") with specific scenes of the Sannō Hiyoshi Festivals on the mid-fourth month's "monkey day" and sumo wrestling at Matsuo Shrine on the eighth month's first day (Hassaku), they unfold dynamic processions, rituals, and communal celebrations at sacred Shinto sites. Measuring over 37 feet each, these ink, color, and gold paintings on paper invite viewers to "unroll" the...