Comment - Surimono design of a geisha standing beside a large capsized Edo kite ("Edo-tako", "江戸凧") depicting a galloping horse. The beauty looks over her shoulder, a bundle of cloth under her arm. She wears a gray kimono edged with layers of yellow floral brocade. With her tall black wooden geta sandals she stands on the kiteline. An attractive design detailed with touches of embossing and soft shading. The poem is not read.

Surimono are an exclusive subcategory of Japanese wood block prints. They were privately commissioned works intended to be distributed to a small audience of friends, colleagues or like-minded members of a "poetry circle". The most common surimono style included an image and a poetry verse. Some surimono depict well-known stories from ancient legend and are fantastic individual works of art without any calligraphy. Because of the exclusive nature of surimono, and the fact that they were commissioned by wealthy individuals, the level of workmanship was excellent. The designs are stunning, and usually printed to the highest standards on expensive paper with fine pigments and embellishments. The carvers and printers were leaders in their fields. Since surimono were not sold to a commercial audience the print runs were very small and original surimono are incredibly rare in the market.


Series - ~


Artist - see Biography


Signature - Katsushika Taito-ga (葛飾戴斗画) (drawn by Katsushika Taito) upper right


Publisher -  ~


Image Size -   21.6 x 18.4 cm  (8 1/2" x 7 1/4")


Condition -  single sheet, nishiki-e (cloured woodblock); Surimono;