Woodblock prints of men posing as birds (1809)
In early 19th-century Japan, it became fashionable for the culturally sophisticated theatergoing population of Edo to entertain themselves at parties by imitating the voices and gestures of famous actors. As this fad spread, people began to expand their repertoires by mimicking animals, and as animal poses became all the rage at parties, writers and artists collaborated to produce illustrated books containing model examples of these poses. One such document written by poet Santo Kyoden in 1809 included copies of these Utagawa Toyokuni ukiyo-e prints of men imitating birds.
Crow pose
Hawk pose
Duck pose
The work, titled Harasuji Omuseki (?????), consisted of several volumes that also featured poses for animals other than birds. Waseda University has an online copy of Volume 3, which includes the animal poses below.
Chicken pose
Crane pose, Owl pose
Squid pose
Goby pose
Shrimp pose
Now I know why the characters always imitate various animals in the manga “Inachuu takkyubu”….
[Reply]
Looks like a bad case of benpi.
[Reply]
i think they’re trying to poop.
[Reply]
Lacking a personality, men try the mating rituals of other species.
[Reply]