Object data
nishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting
height 137 mm × width 186 mm
Ryûryûkyo Shinsai
Repairing a Kimono
Japan, Japan, Japan, 1809
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1990;1 by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Object number: RP-P-1991-668
Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse
Copyright: Public domain
Context
The Hamagurigai is Number 33 in Oeda Ryuho's A Series of Shells as Brocade of the Coast, Kaitsukushi ura no nishiki, of 1749.
For general notes on the series, see RP-P-1991-561.
The artist
Ryuryukyo Shinsai (n.d., but often given as 1764?-1820; the latter date is definitely incorrect as his last known designs were issued in 1825) is said to have first been follower of Tawaraya Sori, and later of Katsushika Hokusai, who gave him the art-name Shinsai in 1800. His personal name was Masayuki. He was one of the most prolific designers of surimono in the early 19th century and thoroughly explored the possibilities of issuing works in titled series.
Entry
Two women in a room opening onto a garden. One of them kneeling in front of the other, a thread between her lips, repairing the hem of the standing woman's kimono.
The Clam, Hamagurigai (Meretrix meretrix lusoria Roeding), from the series A Matching Game of Poems, Kasen awase.
There must be a connection between needlework, as seen in this design, and the hamaguri shell, because Hokusai also illustrates various needlework products in his series A Matching Game with the Genroku Poem Shells, Genroku kasen kaiawase, of 1821 (e.g. RP-P-1963-26). Perhaps it refers to the custom of putting scented ointment inside clams, covering them with silk or cotton, sewing them closed and wearing them attached to pouches, as can be seen to some extent in Hokusai's design.
Two poems by Tawara Fuchiko and Utamichi Hatsunari.
Issued by the Yomogawa
Unsigned
Literature
M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 162
Citation
M. Forrer, 2013, 'Ryûryûkyo Shinsai, Repairing a Kimono, Japan, 1809', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.422468
(accessed 5 October 2024 08:20:36).