Dance Hall at the New Carlton Hotel – Yamamura Toyonari, 1924

The Story Behind

In Dance Hall at the New Carlton Hotel (1924), Yamamura Toyonari captures a fleeting, glamorous moment in the international nightlife of 1920s Shanghai — a city at the crossroads of East and West, tradition and modernity. Known for his elegant shin-hanga portrait work, Toyonari here turns his eye to urban cosmopolitanism.

Set in the newly built New Carlton Hotel, the scene shows a Western-style ballroom alive with dance, fashion, and jazz-age energy. Women in flapper dresses, men in tuxedos, and golden lighting evoke a modern, global spirit, while Toyonari’s meticulous linework and subtle color gradients keep the distinctly Japanese printmaking aesthetic intact.

This rare print is more than a party scene — it’s a visual time capsule of roaring Shanghai, where modern Asia and colonial influence blended into a unique cultural moment.