New Year Gift
Kamata Gensen
1863
Medium
Color woodblock print; surimono
Dimensions
23.9 × 9 cm (9 7/16 × 3 9/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
42458
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This egoyomi print shows a plum blossom branch with noshi (gift-strip paper) for the New Year. It also includes a listing of daisho, or the long and short months. The first day of each zodiac sign for the months of 1863 is included in the poems. Kamata Gensen cheekily imitated the format and characters of official calendars issued by the government. Gensen wrote that he designed the print in response to a request, probably by the host of this particular poetry gathering.