Monkey-music moon, from the series One hundred aspects of the moon

A samurai stands backstage at a humorous dance performance known as 'saragaku', literally ‘monkey music’, which includes song, dance and music. Originating in the tenth century, by the fifteenth century 'saragaku' evolved into nō theatre. Here, a crowd of men carrying umbrellas come early to try and find seats to watch a performance. It is a dawn moon, indicating it is an early performance which would last from 8am until the afternoon. During the Edo period the emperor’s envoy would be sent from Kyoto to Edo to send new-year greetings from the Tokugawa family. It was customary that the envoy and commoners from districts in the city be invited to a nō performance.