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A Smoking Set and Turnips
Ryûryûkyo Shinsai (mentioned on object), c. 1815 - c. 1820
Een rookset bestaande uit een zeer luxe pijphouder en een tabakszak, met daarachter twee rapen. Met drie gedichten.
- Artwork typeprint, surimono
- Object numberRP-P-1991-659
- Dimensionsheight 207 mm x width 185 mm
- Physical characteristicsnishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting
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Identification
Title(s)
- A Smoking Set and Turnips
- Turnips from Higashiyama
Series title(s)
- De thuis richtlijnen voor correspondentie
- Teikin ôrai (series title on object)
Object type
Object number
RP-P-1991-659
Description
Een rookset bestaande uit een zeer luxe pijphouder en een tabakszak, met daarachter twee rapen. Met drie gedichten.
Part of catalogue
Catalogue reference
- Forrer 357
- Goslings 103
Creation
Creation
- print maker: Ryûryûkyo Shinsai (mentioned on object), Japan
- dichter: Kashakutei Aigaki (mentioned on object), Japan
- dichter: Harunoya Hajime (mentioned on object), Japan
- dichter: Kûmanya Maeda (mentioned on object), Japan
Dating
c. 1815 - c. 1820
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Material and technique
Physical description
nishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting
Dimensions
height 207 mm x width 185 mm
Explanatory note
Een surimono is een luxe uitgevoerde prent waarop beeld met één of meerdere gedichten gecombineerd is. Bij het drukken van een surimono werd vaak gebruik gemaakt van dikker papier, blinddruk en metaal pigmenten, zoals koper- en zilverpoeder. De prenten werden vaak in opdracht van dichters gemaakt en als exclusief geschenk aan vrienden en relaties gegeven.
This work is about
Subject
Acquisition and rights
Credit line
Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse
Acquisition
gift 1991
Copyright
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer Kunsthandel Huys den Esch, Dodewaard, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1989;{Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 48, cat. no. 103} by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Documentation
Persistent URL
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Ryûryûkyo Shinsai
A Smoking Set and Turnips
Japan, Japan, Japan, Japan, c. 1815 - c. 1820
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer Kunsthandel Huys den Esch, Dodewaard, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1989;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 48, cat. no. 103 by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Object number: RP-P-1991-659
Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse
Context
The Teikin orai is a classical guide to letter writing, intended to serve both as an aid in writing characters as well as help master compositional style. It is attributed to the monk Genne (d. 1350). As so many series based on literary sources, it is uncertain how many designs were in the original series.
It is quite likely that this series was designed for the same poetry group that commissioned A Series of Three on the Theme of Bravery and Valour from Japan and China for the Kumanyaren, Kumanyaren - Waken buyu awase sanban no uchi, from Hokusai in 1820 (see Keyes).2Keyes, Roger S., Surimono: Privately Published Japanese Prints in the Spencer Museum of Art. Tokyo/New York: Kodansha International Ltd., 1984, p. 109.
For others in the series, see:
Karasumaru no eboshi: Still life of court-caps and a fan - NME, Leiden, 1353-19233Fujisawa Morihiko korekushon surimono o chuushin to shite (The Fujisawa Morihiko Collection: with a Stress on Surimono) Tokyo: Ota Memorial Museum of Art, 1998, p. 57., MFA 11.20027
Still life of various fans -4Fujisawa Morihiko korekushon surimono o chuushin to shite (The Fujisawa Morihiko Collection: with a Stress on Surimono) Tokyo: Ota Memorial Museum of Art, 1998, p. 18.
Okushu no kin: Fabric, box with brushes, and golden pipe - MFA 11.20029.
The artist
Biography
Ryuryukyo Shinsai (n.d., but often given as 1764?-1820; the latter date is definitely incorrect as his last known designs were issued in 1825) is said to have first been follower of Tawaraya Sori, and later of Katsushika Hokusai, who gave him the art-name Shinsai in 1800. His personal name was Masayuki. He was one of the most prolific designers of surimono in the early 19th century and thoroughly explored the possibilities of issuing works in titled series.
Entry
A smoking set consisting of a pipe holder with metal fittings that is probably meant to be tucked into a sash with a small brocade tobacco pouch attached to it, a coral bead, ojime, keeping the bag closed. Behind it two turnips.
Turnips from Higashiyama, Higashiyarna no kabura, from the series The Home Precepts for Correspondence, Teikin orai.
The pipe holder, kiseruzutsu, is of an extremely luxurious type, which has led to it being identified by some as a dagger or even a short sword, but not even a woman's dagger would fit into a sheath this small. The turnip leaves are printed without the use of a line-block.
Three poems by Kashakutei Aigaki, Harunoya Hajime and Kumanya [or Soramitsuya? (Tagaki)] Maeda. The first two poems are rather unconventional and not very informative.
Maeda's poem reads:
It must have eaten Higashiyama turnips - the voice of the warbler in our garden sounds so full every morning
Higashiyama is a mountain east of Kyoto.
Issued by the Yomogawa
Signature reading: Shinsai
Produced by the Ryusai [Chimatal Studio]
Literature
M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 357
Citation
M. Forrer, 2013, 'Ryûryûkyo Shinsai, A Smoking Set and Turnips, Japan, c. 1815 - c. 1820', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200415811
(accessed 11 December 2025 22:22:11).Footnotes
- 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 48, cat. no. 103
- 2Keyes, Roger S., Surimono: Privately Published Japanese Prints in the Spencer Museum of Art. Tokyo/New York: Kodansha International Ltd., 1984, p. 109.
- 3Fujisawa Morihiko korekushon surimono o chuushin to shite (The Fujisawa Morihiko Collection: with a Stress on Surimono) Tokyo: Ota Memorial Museum of Art, 1998, p. 57.
- 4Fujisawa Morihiko korekushon surimono o chuushin to shite (The Fujisawa Morihiko Collection: with a Stress on Surimono) Tokyo: Ota Memorial Museum of Art, 1998, p. 18.