Meiwa era (1764–1772) Donated by Saitō Shōji
This doll is based on Sanbasō, a character in the Noh play ‘Okina.’ Literally translating to ‘the third old man,’ Sanbasō is the third character following Senzai and Okina to appear on stage. The play depicts a sacred ancient rite, and he performs a dynamic ritual dance to pray for a bountiful harvest. Thanks to its humorous nature and essentially celebratory atmosphere, this dance became popular enough to be performed independently, and has also been adapted for kabuki.