Object data
nishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting
height 138 mm × width 188 mm
Ryûryûkyo Shinsai
Mooring a Boat
Japan, Japan, 1809
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer C.P.J. van der Peet Japanese Prints, Amsterdam, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1983;1 by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Object number: RP-P-1991-467
Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse
Copyright: Public domain
Context
The Sazaigai is Number 12 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
A young boy mooring a boat to a pole on the riverbank while his mother watches him. A heron nesting on the roof of a temple seen across rice fields.
The Turban Shell, Sadae (Turbo [Batillus] cornutus Solander), from the series A Matching Game of Poems, Kasen awase.
The 'Turban Shell', or sazae or sadae, as it is written here, is associated with the name of the Sazaido, the hall of the Temple of Five Hundred Rakan, Gohyakurakando, on the eastern bank of the Sumida River in Edo. This hall featured a spiral staircase reminiscent of the interior of a Turban shell and was therefore popularly known as Sazaido. In fact, the temple seen in the distance in this design is this hall. A similar association can be found in Hokusai's series A Matching Game with the Genroku Poem Shells, Genroku kasen kaiawase, of 1821 (e.g. RP-P-1963-26).
Two poems by —juan Tsurihito [or Tsurindo], and Yomo no Utagaki Magao [1753-1829, Shikatsube Magao, pupil of Yomo Akara. Used the name 'Yomo' from 1796, when he became a judge of the Yomogawa. Alternative name Kyokado].2
Both poems refer to the Sazaido, the temple in the distance.
Issued by the Yomogawa
Signature reading: Shinsai ga
Literature
M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 157
Citation
M. Forrer, 2013, 'Ryûryûkyo Shinsai, Mooring a Boat, Japan, 1809', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.422465
(accessed 15 January 2025 00:31:47).