Playing the "Hand Game"
Hasegawa Yasumasa (Japanese)
c. 1760
Medium
hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
39 × 55.3 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
Accession Number
1985.258
Tags
male
About this artwork
This scene depicts three people playing a game in which three players make hand gestures simultaneously. The relationship among the gestures determines the winner. Known as hand games, during the eighteenth century they were popular in Japan among courtesans. In this version, the contestants use both hands, indicating a special variation such as the fox hand game, which features gestures for a fox, a village leader, and a hunter.