Image

Ryūryūkyo Shinsai 柳々居辰斎

Monkey at the New Year (Saru no shogatsu)

Description

Maker

Ryūryūkyo Shinsai 柳々居辰斎 (Japanese, Active in Edo 1799-1820)

Title

Monkey at the New Year (Saru no shogatsu)

Period

Edo (Japanese period)

Year

1810s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink, color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

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

Signature: Shinsai

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

13.1421

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Prints for the Japanese New Year
Dec 17, 2010 – Apr 17, 2011

Label copy

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.

Private Images in Print
Surimono
Jul 31, 1992 – Sep 27, 1992

Use & Feedback

Image use

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

Tombstone

Ryūryūkyo Shinsai 柳々居辰斎 (Japanese, Active in Edo 1799-1820)
Monkey at the New Year (Saru no shogatsu), 1810s
Polychrome wood block print
Sheet: 20.8 x 18.1 cm (8 3/16 x 7 1/8 inches)
Bequest of Isaac C. Bates 13.1421

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