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Festival of Sumiyoshi Shrine / Left screen

18th century (Edo period)

Sakai City Museum
Sakai-shi, Osaka, Japan

The painting depicts a festival of the Sumiyoshi Shrine. The presence of Sarutahiko, the deity of purification and guidance, and the Sumiyoshi dance suggests that the picture is showing the Nagoshi-no-harae, a purification ritual held on the last day of the sixth lunar month.
It is said that the origin of the Sumiyoshi dance, which is shown on the right screen, was dancing tour by monks for raising funds for the construction of the shrine. Those monks stayed around Sumiyoshi and Osaka during the days from the planting festival in the fifth month through the Nagoshi-no-harae.
On the left screen, two warriors decorated with flowers are leading the procession, followed by the festival float; and a person with a red wig is dancing on the float. This is the only example of a float depicted among pictures of the Sumiyoshi Festival.
On the right of the float is the procession of the shrine ritual, made up with ordinary features such as Sarutahiko led by a priest, lion dance, and the mikoshi palanquin. However, the more focused as a whole are dances and disguise, which makes this picture very unique among existing pictures of the Sumiyoshi Festival.

Details

  • Title: Festival of Sumiyoshi Shrine / Left screen
  • Date Created: 18th century (Edo period)
  • Original Source: Sakai City Museum
  • Medium: pair of six-panel folding screens / color on gold-leafed paper

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