Comment - Image of a young boy holding acorrectly tangled Edo kite ("Edo-tako", "江戸凧"), boldly patterned with purple and white checks and a large red sun, the symbol of the Japanese flag. The typical tail ropes of the Edo are missing. The kite rests over his shoulder, the strings gathered in his hand as he looks to the side, the spool of string lying on the ground nearby. At right, a beauty bounces a ball, kneeling over it and smiling. She wears a purple kimono edged in red and patterned with slender green leaves and tie-dyed blossoms, tied with a jade green brocade obi. A folding screen behind her features a landscape with a red sun and yellow clouds. The background is decorated with confetti-like shapes in yellow and light brown. The cassette on the upper right gives the title of the print ("Shogatsu", " 正月").

see the whole triptych


Series -"Fuzoku Gosecki no Uchi" (Customs and Manners)


Artist - see Biography


Signature - "KOKUNIMASA" ("小国政") on the lower left with artist's seal


Publisher - seal left selvage not read (cut off)


Image Size - 47.9 X 36.5 (18 7/8" x 14 3/8") (two sheets; the sheet with the lady playing battledore is missing)


Condition - two sheets of a triptych; nishiki-e (cloured woodblock); Vertical ôban (ôban tate-e)