Surimono
The word surimono (摺物) literally means “printed thing”. Surimono
are privately commissioned prints used as New Year’s cards, to make
announcements, or to commemorate important events. Those intended as New Year’s cards were
often commissioned by groups of amateur poets. Surimono
are characterized by small editions and costly printing methods, since they
were not intended to be sold for profit.
Most bear kyoka
(31 syllable poems), and they are often of a size known as shikishiban (色紙判, about 8 by 7 inches or 21 by 18 centimeters). There is an element of subjectivity in
deciding whether or not a particular print is a surimono when either the quality is deficient or the size is
other than shikishiban.
|
Series |
Robinson 1961‡ |
Schaap 1998† |
|
1.b.1, 1.b.2, 1.b13, 1.b.3, 1.c.1, 1.c.2, 1.c.3.
2.a.6, 2.b.1, 2.c.1, 2.c.2, 2.c.5, 2.c.7, 2.d.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6
and 2.7 |
|
|
1.a.7, 2.a.5.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 and 4.1
|
|
148 |
2.a.1, 2.a.2, 2.a.3, 2.a.4, 2.a.6, 2.c.4, 2.c.6 and
2.d.1 |
|
|
1.a.1, 1.a.2, 1.a.2, 1.a.4, 1.a.5, 1.a.5, 1.a.6,
1.a.8, 1.b.5, 1.b.6, 1.c.4, 1.c.5, 1.c.6, 1.c.7, 2.8, 2.9, 2.10, 4.2, 4.3 and
4.4 |
‡ Listing in Kuniyoshi
by Basil William † Listing in Heroes and Ghosts: Japanese Prints by Kuniyoshi by Robert Schaap (Hotei Publishing, Leiden, 1998) CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAIN
PAGE |