# Binzasara, A Dance with Clappers (From the series Entertainments at the Height of the Niwaka Festival in the Pleasure Quarters)

- By: Eishōsai Chōki (Japanese)
- Date: early 1790s
- Medium: color woodblock print
- Classification: Print
- Dimensions: Sheet: 24.5 x 18.2 cm (9 5/8 x 7 3/16 in.)
- Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- Credit line: Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1930.174)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1930.174/1930.174_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

During the eighth lunar month of each year the geisha of the pleasure quarters would form themselves into groups and proceed around the quarter performing dances and skits. It seems likely that woodblock prints featuring the Niwaka Festival were purchased as souvenirs of the occasion. The Binzasara is a ritual dance related to agriculture and fertility performed during the month of May. Agricultural deities are addressed by the use of flowered hats and binzasara clappers.