Bowl of New Year Food
probably 1808
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
5 1/8 x 7 3/16 in. (13 x 18.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP2026
Tags
Art Historical Context
Delight in the festive spirit of Japan's Edo period (1615–1868) with *Bowl of New Year Food*, a woodblock print (surono) by Teisai Hokuba, likely created around 1808 Hokuba, a skilled ukiyo-e artist follower of the renowned Katsushika Hokusai, captures a modest yet celebratory scene featuring a bowl brimming with traditional New Year foods—symbolizing prosperity and good fortune—and playful birds perched nearby. These intimate prints, often commissioned for private New Year greetings, were luxuriously produced with vibrant inks, subtle colors, and sometimes metallic accents, making them treasu...
About the Artist
Teisai Hokuba · 1771–1844
Teisai Hokuba (1771–1844) was a Japanese artist of the Edo period who worked in the tradition of ukiyo-e, the celebrated school of woodblock prints and paintings that depicted the floating world of urban pleasure, theater, landscape, and daily life. A devoted pupil of Katsushika Hokusai — one of the towering figures in the history of Japanese art — Hokuba adopted the prefix of his master's name as...