Object data
nishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting
height 225 mm × width 191 mm
Ryûryûkyo Shinsai
Two Puppets Resting Against a Box
Japan, Japan, Japan, Japan, Japan, 1818
Inscriptions
- collector's mark, verso, stamped
Provenance
…; collection Heinz M. Kaempfer (1904-86) (collector's mark);…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1988;1 by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Object number: RP-P-1991-651
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 still life of two puppets resting against a box, a small screen upon it. In the foreground a pair of scissors, a piece of cloth and a print of the Treasure Ship.
Returning Sails of the Treasure Ship, Takarabune no kihan, from the series Eight Views of---(?), —oku chi hakkei.
The 'Treasure Ship', of the title is represented in the design as a popular print of the Takarabune, which was placed under one's pillow on New Year's Eve to ensure an auspicious First Lucky Dream, hatsuyume, of the New Year (cf. RP-P-1991-629 and RP-P-1991-454). The 'Returning Sails', kihan, in the title, is suggested by the small screen placed atop the box. The 'Returning Sails' is one of the traditional subjects in any group of Eight Views, Hakkei (cf. RP-P-1958-514).
The numerals for the long months are indicated on the right-hand panel of the small screen, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 12; those for the short months on the left-hand panel, 3, 5, 8. 10 and 11.
Four poems by Taimairo Teruyoshi, Junjotei Mizumori, Shuchodo Monoyana [b. 1761, one of the heads of the Yomogawa],2 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].3
Although the print was obviously issued for the New Tiger Year, in his poem, Monoyana speaks of 'a shell screen' (cf. RP-P-1991-611), 'Enoshima' and even of the 'Years of the Snake [1821], and the Horse [1822]'.
Despite the illegible series-title, the theme of this series is the Eight Views, Hakkei, a concept originating in Chinese poetry that was later adopted in Chinese painting. It was often used in Japanese painting as well. It was also one of the first themes to be absorbed into the realm of Japanese prints, and combined with famous locations around Lake Biwa in Omi Province, the Omi hakkei, or in the city of Edo, the Edo or Toto hakkei. In the true spirit of ukiyoe as 'pictures of the floating world', they also came to be associated with a variety of other concepts, as here. In the absence of any other known designs from this series, it remains difficult to say exactly what the allusion is here. Keyes reads the series-title as Shunkyo hakkei, Eight Views of Spring.
Issued by an unidentified poetry club, possibly the Yomogawa
Signature reading: Shinsai
Literature
M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 356
Citation
M. Forrer, 2013, 'Ryûryûkyo Shinsai, Two Puppets Resting Against a Box, Japan, 1818', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.432518
(accessed 22 November 2024 23:14:04).