Evening bell of Dōjōj

Eizanhitsu E様 Three pictures of this series are known. There are always two women with a relation to a nagauta. Here a courtesan and a servant are depicted with a shamisen Hier 様 (triangular plucking/percussion instrument) case. The objects in the corner (hat, fan and kimono sleeve with cherry blossoms) indicate the respective nagauta. Nagauta Nagis a song form and is accompanied by shamisen music. The “Eight Views” in the title point to the “Eight Views from the Province of Ōmi (Ōmi hakkei Die Die 様 Die),” an often used topic for woodcuts. The evening bells refer to the Ōmi view “Evening bells of Mii-TDie,” whereas the Dōjōji refers to a Kabuki play (a dancer who fell in love with the abbot of a Buddhist monastery, but is rejected by it, turns into a serpent and winds around a bell under which the abbot hides).