Koto and New Year’s Offering, illustration for The Akoya Beach Shell (Akoyagai), from the series "A Matching Game with Genroku-period Poem Shells (Genroku kasen kai awase)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; nishikie with metallic pigments and blindprinting; surimono shikishiban
Dimensions
20.9 × 17.8 cm (8 1/4 × 7 1/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
81196
Art Historical Context
Katsushika Hokus, the legendary Japanese artist renowned for his ukiyo-e woodblock prints like *The Great Wave off Kanag*, created this exquisite surimono in 1821. Titled *Koto and New Year Offering, illustration for The Akoya Shell (Akoyagai)*, it belongs to the series *A Matching Game with Gen-period Poem Shells (roku kasen kai awase)*. This playful series draws from the traditional *kai awase* shell-matching game, pairing famous poems from the Genroku era (1688–1704) with evocative images of shells found on Akoya Beach. Surimono like this were deluxe, privately commissioned prints, often pr...
About the Artist
Katsushika Hokusai · 1760–1849
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) stands as one of history's most influential artists, a Japanese master who revolutionized the ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition and profoundly shaped Western art. Born in the Katsushika district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to an artisan family, Hokusai lived through nearly nine decades of extraordinary creative evolution, adopting over thirty different artistic names t...