Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
This scene depicts three people playing a game in which three players make hand gestures simultaneously. The relationship among the gestures determines the winner. Known as hand games, during the eighteenth century they were popular in Japan among courtesans. In this version, the contestants use both hands, indicating a special variation such as the fox hand game, which features gestures for a fox, a village leader, and a hunter.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
152430
label
Playing the "Hand Game"
core
obj
dtoType
painting
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
152430
contentType
painting
title
Playing the "Hand Game"
description
This scene depicts three people playing a game in which three players make hand gestures simultaneously. The relationship among the gestures determines the winner. Known as hand games, during the eighteenth century they were popular in Japan among courtesans. In this version, the contestants use both hands, indicating a special variation such as the fox hand game, which features gestures for a fox, a village leader, and a hunter.
date
c. 1760
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60475548
creators
23319
genreSpecific
Painting
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 39 x 55.3 cm (15 3/8 x 21 3/4 in.)
cul
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
accession
1985.258
Source extras
tec
hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
tombstone
Playing the "Hand Game", c. 1760. Hasegawa Yasumasa (Japanese). Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper; overall: 39 x 55.3 cm (15 3/8 x 21 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith, 1985.258
collection
ASIAN - Hanging scroll
formerAccessionNumbers
559.1973
citations
citation
Lane, Richard. “Ukiyo-E Paintings Abroad. A Review Article.” <em>Monumenta Nipponica</em> 23, no. 1/2 (1968): 190–207.
page_number
Reproduced: fig. 7
citation
“Checklist of the Kelvin Smith Bequest.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 7 (September 1988): 292–295.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 294
citation
Jenkins, Donald. “Paintings of the Floating World.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 75, no. 7 (September 1988): 244–278.
page_number
Reproduced: pl. IV
creditline
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:52:57.884000
sourceId
152430
dept
Japanese Art
coll
ASIAN - Hanging scroll
med
hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
4153462493c96636