A Fisher-woman

attributed to Kubota Shunman, c. 1800 - c. 1805

Een vrouwelijke visser, gekleed in rode korte kimono, staat met een groene mand onder de arm. Met twee gedichten.

  • Artwork typeprint, surimono
  • Object numberRP-P-1991-684
  • Dimensionsheight 202 mm x width 88 mm
  • Physical characteristicsnishikie

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"adult woman" by Kubota Shunman

Woman Holding a Tray with Clothing

Kubota Shunman (mentioned on object), 1807

Woman Holding a Tray with Clothing

A Lady and Servant by a Waterfall

Kubota Shunman (mentioned on object), 1799

A Lady and Servant by a Waterfall

A Meeting of Three Poets

Kubota Shunman (mentioned on object), 1799

A Meeting of Three Poets

more by Kubota Shunman

Five Cranes

Kubota Shunman (mentioned on object), c. 1816

Five Cranes

Vier vlinders

after print by Kubota Shunman (mentioned on object), c. 1880 - c. 1900

Vier vlinders

Pioenrozen en irissen

after print by Kubota Shunman (mentioned on object), c. 1890 - c. 1900

Pioenrozen en irissen

A Lacquer Bowl

Kubota Shunman (mentioned on object), c. 1815 - c. 1820

A Lacquer Bowl

Lobster and Shells

Kubota Shunman (mentioned on object), c. 1800 - c. 1805

Lobster and Shells

Rotsen, golven en de opkomende maan

after print by Kubota Shunman (mentioned on object), c. 1890

Rotsen, golven en de opkomende maan

Kubota Shunman (attributed to)

A Fisher-woman

Japan, Japan, Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805

Provenance

…; purchased from the dealer C.P.J. van der Peet Japanese Prints, Amsterdam, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1991;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 53, cat. no. 116 by whom donated to the museum, 1991

Object number: RP-P-1991-684

Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse

Context

The Six Classical Poets is a selection of the greatest poets first singled out in the preface to the anthology of the Poets from Former Times and Today, Kokinwakashu (20 vols., 905). The group is comprised of the Heian period (794-1185) poets (dates mostly unknown) Ariwara no Narihira (825-80), Sojo Henjo, Kisen hoshi, Otomo no Kuronushi, Bunya no Yasuhide and Ono no Komachi. In this series they are represented by contemporary women engaged in various occupations.

For others of the series, see (also with the last poem signed Shosado Shunman):
Ariwara no Narihira: Woman holding flowering branch.2Vignier, Charles and lnada, H., Estampes japonaises exposées /.../, 6 vols. Paris: D.-A. Longuet, 1910-14, p. 121.

The artist

Biography

Kubota Shunman (1757-1820), popularly called Kubo Shunman, was a pupil of Kitao Shigemasa who was also strongly influenced by Torii Kiyonaga and Katsukawa Shuncho. He created an attractive blend of the various ideals of feminine beauty prevalent in his time. He also used the art name Shosado. In addition to designing prints and making paintings, he was a poet and a writer and ran a studio that produced surimono. It was probably in this capacity that he introduced some of the innovations of the mid-Bunka period (1809-13), exploring the concept of large series of shikishiban surimono.

Entry

A fisher-woman holding a large basket under her arm raises her other hand over her head to shade her eyes from the sun as she looks in the distance. The basket probably contains her harvest of seashells.

Her clothing is decorated with a pattern of bundles of abalone, noshi. The ground has been printed to resemble silk (cf. RP-P-1991-682).

The Poet-Priest Kisen hoshi, Kisen, from an untitled series on the Six Classical Poets, Rokkasen.

Two poems by Shufutei Inaba, [1777-1830, possibly identical to Kadota or Nennensai Inaba, a pupil of Rokujuen, later a judge]3Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 20. and Shosado [Kubota Shunman, 1757-1820, a pupil of Tsumuri no Hikaru and a member of the Hakurakugawa].4Ibid., p. 95.

Issued by the Hakurakugawa Poetry Club(?)
Unsigned

Literature

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 84

Citation

M. Forrer, 2013, 'attributed to Kubota Shunman, A Fisher-woman, Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200467461

(accessed 4 December 2025 10:09:06).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 53, cat. no. 116
  • 2Vignier, Charles and lnada, H., Estampes japonaises exposées /.../, 6 vols. Paris: D.-A. Longuet, 1910-14, p. 121.
  • 3Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 20.
  • 4Ibid., p. 95.