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Baien 梅園

Mackerel Sushi

Maker

Baien 梅園 (1820 - 1829, Osaka and Edo, Japan)
Tani Seikō 谷清好 (1822 - 1831, Edo and Osaka, Japan), block carver

Title

Mackerel Sushi

Period

Edo Period

Year

ca. 1825-1827

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and colors

Supports

Geography

Origin: Japan

Dimensions

Shikishiban: 21.4 x 18.4 cm (8 7/16 x 7 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription Text/Poem: 月令のふみ好む木か春の味すくなきなから梅そ咲なる
- 紀高振

しらけたるよねの◻︎◻︎咲梅かえにうくひすもきく宿のはや寿し
- 鶴廼屋

Translation: Is it a tree with a taste for The Records of Monthly Ceremonials?
Even though it lacks much of the flavor of Spring, the plum is brought to bloom
- Ki no Takafuru

On a branch of plum, Blossoming like refined white rice
The voice of the warbler strikes the senses like vinegar In our house’s sushi celebration
- Tsurunoya

(Translated in McKee, Colored in the Year's New Light (2008), p. 158)

Signature: 梅園 Baien

Seals: Designer's seal: 梅園 Baien
Block carver's seal: 谷清好 Tani Seikō

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of George Pierce Metcalf

Object Number

56.039.61

Type

Exhibition History

Deep Cuts
Stories from Japanese Surimono Prints
May 23, 2026 – Oct 04, 2026
Surimono from Osaka and Edo
The Pumpelly Album
May 23, 2008 – Oct 05, 2008

Label copy

A poem by Tsurunoya Osamaru (ca. 1751-ca. 1839) appears in the upper left corner, and the gourd seal of blockcutter Tani Seiko (act. 1822-1831) appears in the lower left corner. Baien is the poet Ki no Tsukunari (d. 1886).

Small Pleasures
Surimono from the Nineteenth Century
Mar 15, 1991 – Apr 28, 1991

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Baien 梅園 (1820 - 1829, Osaka and Edo, Japan)
Tani Seikō 谷清好 (1822 - 1831, Edo and Osaka, Japan), block carver
Mackerel Sushi, ca. 1825-1827
Polychrome woodblock print with embossing and metallic embellishments (surimono)
Shikishiban: 21.4 x 18.4 cm (8 7/16 x 7 1/4 inches)
Gift of George Pierce Metcalf 56.039.61

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