Plums and Biwa
Tanomura Shosai
1860s
Medium
Color woodblock print; surimono
Dimensions
25.6 × 19.2 cm (10 1/8 × 7 9/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
43327
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This print features a New Year design with a biwa (a musical instrument) resting against white and red plum branches, symbols of the New Year. Tanomura Shosai’s signature also reads: shihitsu (“the first painting of the year”). The design on the biwa was added by a different artist. Signed Jomu in an immature hand, it may have been done by a young apprentice or son of the artist. The New Year was traditionally a time for beginnings, and new artists were introduced to the wider world at this tim...