Saruwaka Kyōgen: "The Inner Palace of Chiyoda" (Chiyoda no Ōoku Saruwaka Kyōgen)
Painted by Yōshū Chikanobu 1895 (Meiji 28) Tokyo Shiryō Collection 618-C1-7

An image of Saruwaka Kyōgen performed in the inner palace is illustrated here. Saruwaka Kyōgen is a type of Nō farce that was a specialty of Nakamura Kanzaburō I and the object carried in the woman's hands pictured in the center of the image is a harlequin/Saruwaka puppet.


The Inner Palace of Chiyoda is a set of illustrations by the hand of Yōshū Chikanobu (Hashimoto Chikanobu) which displays annual events in Edo castle (also known as Chiyoda castle) and the lives of maidservants there. Forty works were issued from the armory in Nihonbashi, Tokyo between 1894 (Meiji 27) and 1896 (Meiji 29).
As it was forbidden to leave written records or speak of the activities that went on inside the inner palace, not much is known about them. Singing, dancing and playing musical instruments was part of compulsory education for samurai daughters and for the festival held in Edo Town on the first day of the horse in February, maidservants such as those rendering services in the next chamber and the third chamber performed dances and farces even in inner palace and the Shogun's wife is said to have viewed this from behind the curtain.

Print