14 Woodblock Prints THE ART of SURIMONO


Courtesan on Elephant Katsushika Taito II (active circa 1810-53), Edo period, circa 1820-1840 © Museum Rietberg


S


urimono are a distinctive form of Japanese colour woodblock prints that emerged between the late 18th and mid-19th centuries. Surimono literally translates to


‘printed things’ or ‘something rubbed’ (referring to the way a Japanese print is made by rubbing paper laid onto a woodblock line-engraving). However, these prints hold far more meaning than their technical creation. In this exhibition, Japan de luxe – Te Art of the Surimono Prints, the genre is explored in over 100 prints, most of which are gifts of Gisela Müller and Erich Gross to the Rietberg Museum and are on show for the first time. Tese luxurious greeting cards


were made to mark seasonal festivals, personal and professional milestones, and special cultural events. Teir often-exquisite design was made to delight both givers and recipients, as were the multifaceted literary and cultural references contained in the poems and visual motifs also printed on the


card – the prints often


combined images with selected calligraphy, most often in the form of poems. Prints with poems were popular commissions for New Year, often privately published and usually commissioned by a poet or a poetry


The Founder of the Lineage: Saigyu Danjuro Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825), Edo period, probably 1825 © Museum Rietberg


Kato Kiyomasa Defeating a Tiger by Motonobu (active circa 1820-40), Edo period, probably 1830 © Museum Rietberg


These luxurious printed cards reflect Edo


culture and style


club. Tese prints are full of clever hidden meanings, in allusions both in the poetry itself, and linked to the poem and the image portrayed. Poetry was an integral part of everyday life in Edo, common in all social classes ranging from samurai to courtesans, with poems written for personal taste or for special occasions. Te growth of Edo and the rise of the nouveau-riche merchants had made an opportunity for artists and publishers to flourish. Ukiyo-e and surimono became the focus and drive of a new and vibrant culture emerging in the rapidly changing city thirsty for entertainment. Artfully designed and intricately


printed on high-quality unsized hosho paper,


surimono reflect this


burgeoning middle-class culture of the Edo period. Tey became a symbol of luxury and achieved a special depth and structure to their form through embossing and blind printing techniques. Tey can be highly decorative and use striking colours and precious metallic powders,


to add to the overall opulent feel of the print – creating a symbol of the epitome of luxury. Surimono were printed in small


Ichikawa Danjuro IX (1838-1903), In the Artist’s Studio (1889) by Satake Eiko (1835-1909), Meiji period © Museum Rietberg


ASIAN ART | OCTOBER 2025 | #AsianArtPaper | asianartnewspaper |


editions of 50 to 500, intended as intimate gifts commissioned by the urban bourgeoisie. Tey served as status symbols for the select group who commissioned them, reflecting the tastes and fashions of society at


asianartnewspaper |


that time. Poets, painters, and printmakers


required more than


mere poetic and artistic talent to be successful, their work also demanded a comprehensive knowledge of literature and history in addition to a familiarity with classical references and traditions. In Surimono: Poetry & Image in


Japanese Prints, Charlotte van Rappard-Boom


explains, ‘Te


technical aspects of making a surimono are the same as those for a commercial print, such as ukiyo-e, but the role of the publisher is taken over by the poet, the poetry club, or the patron who commissioned the print. Tese individuals or clubs paid the


production costs and could


specify the subject of the print. Workshop surimono were


sometimes produced without poems. A client could choose a fitting image for the zodiac year or any other special or personal


subject-matter including gold and silver,


and have a poem added after the print run had been completed. Surimono designed for poetry clubs, or as special invitations, were also sometimes reissued commercially and these second editions were often printed with different poems, or the poems were omitted entirely. It was one way to recoup some of the considerable investment required to finance the original surimono, which could be printed using up to 10 blocks. Societies also used these prints to commemorate the results of


Asian Art Newspaper


The Highlight of the Year of the Monkey, maker unknown, Edo period, 1860 © Museum Rietberg


poetry competitions. Terefore, they provide insights into the diversity of the literary scene at that time. Amateur poets in Kyoto and Osaka composed short haikai poems (known today as haiku). Tey would often be illustrated by painters of the famed Shijo school with light- hearted everyday scenes. In Edo, the 31-syllable satirical kyoka poem was more common, authored by well- known literary figures and illustrated with great attention to detail by acclaimed woodblock artists including Hokusai, Kunisada, and Kubo Shunman’.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24