Living Picture - Katsujinga

It is a performance in which living people imitate famous paintings or famous historical scenes in a silent and still state. Known as "living picture," it was popular in the West in the 18th and 19th centuries as entertainment at high society evenings. It is said to have been formally introduced to Japan on March 12, 1887 (Meiji 20), as a charity performance organized by the Japanese Red Cross Society at the Tokyo Polytechnic University auditorium. It was later performed at girls' school cultural events, but is rarely seen these days. In 1947 (Showa 22), after the Second World War, a "frame show" was held at the Teitoza Theater in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where nude women imitated famous paintings from Japan and abroad, which became a hit and was one of the catalysts for the popularity of strip shows.

[Soya Mukai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

名画や歴史上の名場面を生きた人間が無言静止の状態で模擬的に演じるもの。リビング・ピクチュアliving pictureと称して欧米では社交界の夜会などの余興として18～19世紀に流行した。日本で本式に紹介されたのは1887年（明治20）3月12日、東京の工科大学講堂における日本赤十字社主催の慈善興行が最初とされている。のち女学校の学芸会などでも演じられたが、最近はほとんどみられない。第二次世界大戦後の1947年（昭和22）東京・新宿の帝都座で裸女を使って内外の名画を模した「額縁ショー」が公演されて評判となり、これがストリップショー流行の一つのきっかけになった。

［向井爽也］

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