This Japanese ink and pigment painting on paper, mounted in a scroll with a silk border, depicts a macabre and fascinating scene: two skeletons dance, while a third, seated in the background, plays the shamisen, a traditional Japanese musical instrument. Above the scene, a poem accompanies the artist's signature and stamps.

Tanomura Chokunyu, born on February 15, 1814 in Oita Prefecture, is an emblematic painter of the end of the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji era.
A disciple and adopted son of the famous painter Tanomura Chikuden, he became an influential figure in Japanese art. In 1870, he moved to Kyoto, where he helped found the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting and became its director in 1894. In 1904, he founded the Nansou Ga school and, in 1908, the Japan Nanga Association. Chokunyu died on January 21, 1909, at the age of 94.

The painting shows light wear on the paper and fabric, including some small stains and creases visible in the photos.
Painting dimensions: approximately 123 x 31.5 cm
Mounting dimensions: approximately 186 x 43 cm