Moonlight Revelry
The koto and shamisen often are depicted within the entertainment district of Edo-period (1615�1868) Japan. This detail from a hanging scroll by Utamaro shows geisha playing shamisen, kokyu (fiddle), and koto in an elite pleasure house located in Shinagawa, once a suburb of Edo (now Tokyo).
Detail, Moonlight Revelry at Dozo Sagami. By Kitagawa Utamaro (1753?�1806), Japan, Edo period, late 18th�early 19th century, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper. Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1903.54.