People with Lanterns in Procession 19th century

Kubo Shunman created this woodblock print, “People with Lanterns in Procession,” in Japan during the Edo period. The image captures the excitement of a religious festival, perhaps at Nikko, with crowds of celebrants processing towards the shrine, each holding a lantern aloft. We might ask what role such religious festivals played in the social and political life of the era. Did they offer a safe release from the rigid hierarchies that defined Edo society? Did they function as a conservative influence, reinforcing traditional values? These are questions that the historian can begin to address through close examination of the image itself, comparing it with other images and texts from the period, and locating its place within a history of religious institutions and social practices. The meaning of such an image is always contingent on its original social context.