正月に家々を回り、歌い舞い祝儀を請う門付け芸の万歳が描かれています。烏帽子に素襖(すおう)を着た太夫と、頭巾を被り、鼓をもつ才蔵が一組となり、滑稽な掛け合いをします。三河万歳や大和万歳がよく知られますが、明治以降に次第に少なくなっていきました。

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Saitan (New Year’s Day) (ca. 1934)
color on paper; hanging scroll
65.1 x 41.0 cm

Going from house to house at New Year, a pair of manzai comic storytellers sing and dance and ask for rewards for their efforts. Tayū, the narrator, wears a suō, a ceremonial dress for lower-class samurai, and eboshi headgear, while Saizo, the wise-cracking sidekick, wears a kerchief on his head and carries a hand drum. The Mikawa Manzai and Yamato Manzai are well-known, but manzai has declined gradually since the Meiji period.