Artist: Eisai
Title: Children in Festive Attire
Date: 1866
Details: More information...
Source:
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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Description:
Accompanied by their mother, two young girls are on their way to a hatsuho festival, as noted in some of the accompanying poems. Hatsuho, literally "the first ears of rice," is an annual harvest celebration held in early autumn. People gather at a local shrine or temple and make offerings of food and sake to the gods. The procession of a mikoshi, a portable shrine, or dance and music performances sometimes follows the rite. Here, the girls' cheerful countenances and colorful attire, especially the older girl's flower-adorned hat, conveys the celebratory nature of the occasion. Holding red lanterns and white fans emblazoned with butterflies, the girls seem ready to join the festival procession.