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Introduction

Marking the Occasion

The Japanese Tradition of Surimono
February 3 - May 28, 2006

Surimono (literally "printed objects") are distinguished from polychrome woodblock prints by the presence of a variety of texts integrated into their overall compositions. Privately commissioned and published as announcements, commemorations, or most often as New Year's greetings with poems, surimono exhibit elaborate printing and embossing techniques and the application of metallic dusts and colors on thick paper. The specialized division of labor common in the Japanese woodblock printing process was sometimes overlooked, as painters and poets designed prints and printers both carved and printed their designs.

The link between text and image in surimono is an important one. By the early 19th century, when most of these objects were made, the image and the accompanying poem were conceived together in what is now regarded as the characteristic format. Whether the poetry referred directly to the visual subject of the print or played upon it through word puns and allusions, the artwork was always infused with meaning and a sensuous beauty meant to be savored and enjoyed by its educated recipient.

Many of the selections in this exhibition are from a group of 88 prints presented to the Museum as a donation by George Pierce Metcalf in 1956. The group came from a single Osaka album, one of at least two that were presented as parting gifts to Raphael Pumpelly, a well-known geologist, during his travels in Japan in 1862-63, soon after that country opened its doors to the West. Not only are these some of the earliest prints to leave Japan, but the album's unique association with Osaka is confirmed through the inclusion of Osaka poets and printmakers whose works are not as well known as those from Edo (modern Tokyo). The numerous kyoka ("mad verse") poems by Tsurunoya Osamaru (d. 1839) and members of his circle, as well as the appearance of a tsuru ("crane") seal on many of the prints, make it clear that his patronage and that of his fellow poets provided the impetus for the creation of many of these works.

The RISD Museum of Art gratefully acknowledges the research of Dr. Roger S. Keyes, who has studied and published many of the works on exhibition here.

Selected Objects

Ryuryukyo Shinsai

Fan, Boxes, and Cloth, 1820s

Baien

Mirror and Rouge Cup, ca. 1825-27
No Image Available

Katsushika Hokusai

Illustrated dances of the east: Vol. 2, spring 1802

Japanese Edo

Mirror with Design of Pine, Bamboo, and Tortoises, 1800s

Yanagawa Shigenobu

Huang Chuping with a stone Goat (Huang Chuping and the Goat), 1823/1

Attributed to Ko Sukei

Cranes, cherry, and old well (Furuido ni sakura to tsuru), ca. 1810

Hayami Shungyosai II

Grapes, Scissors, and Porcelain Bowl, mid-1820s

Bokutei (?) Hyakuba

Stirrup, 1822

Jukōdō Yoshikumi

Actors passing Mount Fuji between the Yoshiwara and Hara stations on the Tokaido (Yakusha dochu yoshiwara hara fuji enbo), 1820s

Ryuryukyo Shinsai

Turtle Netsuke and Cloth, 1822

Ryuryukyo Shinsai

Lobster and Cup, 1820s

Kawanabe Kyōsai

Still life with weeping willow, plum and camellia (Seika shidareyanagi to ume to tsubaki), ca. 1880's

Yashima Gakutei

Minamoto no Yoritomo with a Crane, 1820s

Mori Shunkei

Camellia and narcissus (Tsubaki to suisen), ca. 1810'S

Katsushika Hokusai

Hatakeyama Shigetada Carrying a Horse, 1822

Niwa Tōkei

Nandina berries and wild roses in snow (Setchu nanten to yamabuki), 1810's

Utagawa Hiroshige

Flying cranes, 1840-1850's

Nagayama Kōin

Cakes Wrapped in Oak Leaves, possibly fifth lunar month of 1822

Yanagawa Shigenobu

White Horse, 1822

Nagayama Kōin

Inro, Turtle Netsuke, and Coral Bead, probably first lunar month of 1828

Mochizuki no Kagenari

Statue of Buddha and a Lily, mid-1820s

Totoya Hokkei

Cranes and young pines (Komatsu ni tsuru), ca. 1820

Nagayama Kōin

Tortoise Carrying the Isle of the Immortals on His Back, mid-1820s

Japanese

Turtle Inro with Sake Cup Netsuke, 1800s

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Marking the Occasion : The Japanese Tradition of Surimono

February 3 - May 28, 2006
View Checklist PDF

RISD Museum

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