Surimono - Surimono are an exclusive subcategory of Japanese woodblock prints. Poetry clubs commissioned these designs for distribution to a small audience of members, most often as New Year's greetings. These privately published images included a wonderful range of subjects and lavish printing techniques such as embossing, burnishing, and metallic pigments. Since surimono were not sold commercially, the print runs were very small and original Edo era surimono are incredibly rare in the market today. Many high-quality reprints of these great designs were published during the Meiji era.

A Special 1931 Group - These lovely prints come from a series of fifty classic surimono designs reprinted by the publisher Daito in 1931. Like the originals, many include deluxe embellishments, like embossing and metallic pigments. These fascinating and beautifully printed images continue to delight collectors today.

Comments - A terrific portrait of a young beauty sharing an umbrella on a snowy day with Ebisu, the God of Good Fortune. Ebisu carries a large sea bream in a basket with rope handles. Lovely delicate embossed detail on the beauty's white kimono collar, Ebisu's white robe, and in the snow, with metallic gold stripes that have oxidized to a dark tone on the obi. The poems reads:

Today, after being snowed in,
as I headed off to Ebisu Shrine,
escorted by a male geisha and
a woman beautiful as Benten,
I bumped into a friend on the way…
-Nomichi no Kisanji

Artist - Toyohiro (1773 - 1828)

Image Size - 8 5/8" x 8"

Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown. Slight toning, a few small spots, faint indented lines. Please see photos for details. Good overall.