Decorated Fan for the New Year
19th century
Medium
Part of an album of woodblock prints (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
5 1/2 x 7 3/8 in. (14 x 18.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture
Japan
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
JP2314
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Decorated Fan for the New Year** by Ryūūkyo Shinsai captures the festive spirit of Japan's 19th-century New Year celebrations in this exquisite *surimono* wood print. Shinsai, a prominent ukiyo-e artist known for his delicate designs, depicts a fan adorned with birds—symbols of good fortune and renewal—rendered in vibrant ink and color on paper. Measuring just 5½ x 7⅜ inches, its intimate scale evokes a handheld fan, blending artistry with everyday elegance. *Surimono*, or "printed things," were privately commissioned luxury prints often exchanged as New Year's gifts among poets and patrons...
About the Artist
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai · 1799–1823
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai (柳々居辰斎), active from 1799 to 1823, was a prominent Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker based in Edo (modern Tokyo), renowned for his mastery of surimono—luxurious, privately commissioned woodblock prints produced for elite poetry circles and New Year's celebrations. He began his training under Tawaraya Sōri before becoming a student of the legendary Katsushika Hokusai, from whom he recei...