Image

Ryuryukyo Shinsai

Monkey at the New Year (Saru no shogatsu), 1810's

Description

Maker

Title

Monkey at the New Year (Saru no shogatsu)

Year

1810's

Medium

Polychrome wood block print

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Techniques

Supports

Dimensions

Sheet: 20.8 x 18.1 cm (8 3/16 x 7 1/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Poems by Taihado Nomimasu and Taiheiraku Sakamori; poem concerning drinking from the large red sake cup depicted in the upper right corner

Place

Japan; Tokyo

Type

Credit

Bequest of Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

13.1421

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Prints for the Japanese New Year

December 17, 2010 - April 17, 2011

The monkey depicted here wears a black eboshi hat and a happi coat marked with the character of “good fortune” (fuku). It also carries on its shoulder a gohei, a staff decorated with plaited paper streamers and used in various Shinto blessing and purification rituals. The monkey’s costume refers to the saru-mawashi show, a New Year’s performance in which monkeys, believed to have the power to exorcise evil spirits, purified the stables of samurai and rich villagers. The word “monkey” is pronounced “saru” which also means “to expel” in Japanese.
The inscribed poems refer to drinking from the red sake cup depicted in the upper right corner.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Monkey at the New Year (Saru no shogatsu) with the accession number of 13.1421. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.