Puppeteers painting - Shogunate Japan
This ink painting was made by Hanabusa itchô (an artist in the Tokugawa period) and was made between 1562-1724, which was the time periods of when Hanabusa itchô was alive. The exact year the picture was painted is yet to be discovered. The audience of this image would most likely be children or adults trying to get an insight into how the children were treated in shogunate Japan, or in a different perspective people could see it as an image designed just for entertainment. This puppeteer painting is not very useful when investigating how children were treated, because it only shows a few children and doesn't show that all children were treated this way. It also isn't very reliable, due to the unknown date of when it was painted and the small amount of detail in the image. The ink painting shows an ordinary day in the streets of Japan, with children of different sex and different ages being entertained by puppeteers. This black and white image communicates that the children’s genders did not matter, that they were all considered equal and their happy faces show that they enjoy the company of one another, even with the age differences. The children may prove to be poor ones, since they play on the streets instead of inside homes or in gardens. The painting proves that the children of shogunate Japan were not completely disregarded and that some adults used their spare time to entertain the children, meaning that all the adults cared for the children and their wellbeing. Puppet shows were one of the most common ways to entertain the children. The children’s happy faces show this, how they run towards the puppeteers in excitement. This image is an ink painting made on a scroll and the faded background show how old it is. The boy that carries the baby on his back could either be a servant looking after the baby or could just be taking the baby with him on an adventure instead of leaving it crying in its crib. The children’s bodies are leaned slightly forward in mid-run, showing their enthusiasm and excitement towards the entertainers and the colours of the ink painting aren’t dark and bleak, showing that it was a positive painting. The clothing and hair of the children and adults shows that it is most likely meant to be recognized as a Japanese image.