Observations placeholder
Harunobu - 8 Views: Flight of the Wild Geese
Identifier
003371
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Within the context of Shinto, musical instruments were used both for entertainment in the more general sense, but also to help promote spiritual experience. The following has to be taken on two different levels it is both symbolic and graphic as it were. Musical instruments were used by both ‘kabuki’ actors and Geisha.
Here we see a zither. Geese were symbolic of geisha capable of out of body travel. In Japan, geese and cranes were venerated. Everything is symbolic – this is autumn – see the stage on the spiritual path and the bush in the background would also have had symbolic association. According to the compiler of these pictures it was a ‘hagi’ bush, but I know no more.
A description of the experience
