History of Kamakura
19th century
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
8 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (21 x 18.4 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
JP2027
Art Historical Context
Kubo Shunman's *History of Kamakura* a delicate woodblock print from Japan's Edo (1615–1868), the legacy of Kamakura, the 12th-century samurai capital that shaped medieval Japan. Created in the 19th as a *surimono*—a luxurious, privately commissioned print often produced for New Year's greetings or poetry circles—this intimate work measures just 8¼ x 7¼ inches, emphasizing its role as a treasured personal object rather than mass-produced art. Shunman, a master of ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), excelled in surimono's refined techniques: vibrant inks layered with subtle embossing a...
About the Artist
Kubo Shunman · 1757–1820
Japanese, 1757–1820