Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 1: Genroku-style Courtesan
Surimono are privately published woodblock prints, usually commissioned by individual poets or poetry groups as a form of New Year’s greeting card. The poems, most commonly kyōka (witty thirty-one syllable verse), inscribed on the prints usually include felicitous imagery connected with spring, which in the lunar calendar begins on the first day of the first month. Themes of surimono are often erudite, frequently alluding to Japanese literary classics in both texts and images.
Though this print was created in the early nineteenth century, the artist has depicted a courtesan wearing styles popular a century before. The text above is a song by Ōishi Yoshio (Kuranosuke) extolling the beauty of courtesans of the pleasure quarters.
Though this print was created in the early nineteenth century, the artist has depicted a courtesan wearing styles popular a century before. The text above is a song by Ōishi Yoshio (Kuranosuke) extolling the beauty of courtesans of the pleasure quarters.
Artwork Details
- 『春雨集』 摺物帖歌川国直画 元禄美人
- Title: Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 1: Genroku-style Courtesan
- Artist: Utagawa Kuninao (Japanese, 1793–1854)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: probably 1810s
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Privately published woodblock prints (surimono) mounted in an album; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: 8 7/16 x 3 7/16 in. (21.4 x 8.7 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
- Object Number: JP2037
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Utagawa Kuninao
1814
Utagawa Kuninao
1814
Utagawa Hiroshige
1857
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830–32
Chōbunsai Eishi
early 19th century
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