Object data
nishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting
height 138 mm × width 186 mm
Ryûryûkyo Shinsai
Removing Clogged Snow
Japan, Japan, Japan, Japan, 1807
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1983;1 by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Object number: RP-P-1991-471
Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse
Copyright: Public domain
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 manservant stopping by a large snow-hare to remove clogged snow from under a lady's geta. A snow-covered plum tree behind a fence.
Removing snow from under a lady's wooden clogs, geta, is a traditional subject in Japanese prints, dating back at least to the benizurie of the 1740s. It was so well known that a design by Choki from the 1790s showing only a bust-portrait of the woman and the head of the manservant was apparently understood by the public of the time.
Three poems by Osore Yasunari, Nanigotomo Yoshinari and Kenkotei Hanafusa.
All the poems refer to 'a light Spring snow'.
Issued by the poets
Signature reading: Shinsai ga
Literature
M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 143
Citation
M. Forrer, 2013, 'Ryûryûkyo Shinsai, Removing Clogged Snow, Japan, 1807', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.422459
(accessed 15 November 2024 10:32:28).