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The Curtain Clam

Edo period (1615–1868)
Not on view
The young ladies are at the shore. One is getting out of a chair while the other ties a sash about her hips below her "obi." A subtle tone of carpe diem cleverly embedded in the poem deepens the provacative tinge of this charming scene, one of a series that plays on the theme of types of seashells. The "sudare-gai" is a mollusk that was named for the boiled blinds of reed or thin bamboo slats that are still used in Japan to provide the shade and privacy between the interior space and the outside garden. In poetic convention it is a motif of intrinsic eroticism and has a seasonal association with spring.

In this print, a small "sudare" covers the window of the palalquin that has carried these courtesans to the shore for a spring outing.

Nami kakaru fukiage no hama no
sudaregai nami mo zo
orusu isogi hirowan.

A cool breeze whips the waves onto shore
let's hurry to gather the shells.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • すだれ貝
  • Title: The Curtain Clam
  • Artist: Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1725–1770)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: H. 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm); W. 8 9/16 in. (21.7 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
  • Object Number: JP1635
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei), Suzuki Harunobu Japanese, Woodblock print (first edition); ink and colors on paper, medium-sized print (chuban), Japan
Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei)
Suzuki Harunobu
ca. 1766
Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese
Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto)
Japanese
16th century
See Them Fly, Suzuki Harunobu Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan
See Them Fly
Suzuki Harunobu
ca. 1767
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) , Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan

Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830–32

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