Utsubo-saru, from the series "Pictures of No Performances (Nogaku Zue)" 1898

Tsukioka Kôgyo created this woodblock print titled "Utsubo-saru" as part of his "Pictures of No Performances" series. He made it during a period when Japan was undergoing rapid modernization, and there was a renewed interest in preserving traditional arts like Noh theater. This print captures a scene from a Noh play, a highly stylized form of Japanese drama that combines music, dance, and masks. The figure on the left, dressed as a monkey trainer, leads a monkey through a performance. In feudal Japan, monkeys were often employed in theatrical acts, highlighting the complex relationship between humans and animals and the social hierarchies of the time. It’s impossible not to feel a sense of both cultural pride and the weight of history in Kôgyo’s image. The print serves as a visual record and embodies a longing for a past that was rapidly disappearing. It makes us consider our own relationship to history, performance, and the stories we tell about ourselves.