Poet Reading a Poem

…; purchased from the dealer Johannes Marcus (Kunsthandel Magdalena Sothmann), Amsterdam, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1982;¹¹Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 56, cat. no. 122 by whom donated to the museum, 1991

ObjectNumber: RP-P-1991-451

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

Several of the poets represented on this surimono, including Shitami from Mutsu Province, also appear on one of the designs for the series A Matching Game with the Genroku Poem Shells, Genroku kasen kaiawase, of 1821, see RP-P-1958-272. Shitami had apparently risen to considerable rank by 1810, when he contributed to a surimono designed by Shinsai: in a group of twelve, he takes tenth place, just ahead of Monoyana and Magao.²²Mirviss, Joan B. and John T. Carpenter, The Frank Lloyd Wright Collection of Surimono. New York: Weatherhill; Phoenix, Ariz.: Phoenix Art Museum, 1995, 222.

Shitami is also known as the poetry selector for the album Old Men of Great Fame, Natori no okina, which he published himself in Koori in 1798.³³Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p.38. His poems also appear on RP-P-1958-272 (1821), and, as late as the 1830s, on a design by Sonsai Koichi.⁴⁴Keyes, Roger S., The Art of Surimono. Privately Published Japanese Woodblock Prints and Books in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, 2 vols. London: Sotheby’s Publications, 1985, p. 214.

A poet in formal dress, kamishimo, sitting at a writing-table reading the poem written on the poetry-slip, tanzaku, he is holding.

The poet in the design can be identified from the crest on his clothing as Josuirei Shitami, and from the character Jo, which forms part of a stylised fan.

The signature on this copy has been trimmed off - the copy in the Chester Beatty Library⁵⁵Keyes, Roger S., The Art of Surimono. Privately Published Japanese Woodblock Prints and Books in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, 2 vols. London: Sotheby’s Publications, 1985, p. 332. is signed 'Sori ga'. Keyes attributes the print to Sori III (earlier Soji) based on 'the restraint of the design, the poet's small face and the number of poems'. This might be correct if, indeed, the poet Yomo Utagaki Magao signed his poems either as Yomo Magao or as Yomo Utagaki in the 1790s, only using his full name Yomo Utagaki Magao from the early 1800s. On the other hand, Kano states that Shitami was appointed as a judge of the Yomogawa in the Kansei period (1789-1801).⁶⁶Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928)
If so, Hokusai is the more likely designer. Moreover, considering the involvement of famous poets such as Monoyana and Magao, it is more probable that Hokusai would have been chosen over his admittedly talented pupil Sori III.

Five poems by Josuitei Shitami, from Koori in Oshu, i.e., Mutsu Province;⁷⁷Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 90. Soshuro [better known as Zeniya] Kinrachi [I, 1750s-1808, a judge of the Yomogawa];⁸⁸Ibid., p. 57. Goyuken Komendo [or Yonehito, later also known as Kyokabo Komendo or Yonehito later also known as Kyokabo Komendo or Sakazuki, a judge of the Yomogawa];⁹⁹Ibid., p. 243 Shuchodo Monoyana [b. 1761, one of the heads of the Yomogawa];¹⁰¹⁰Ibid., p. 233. and Yomo no Utagaki Magao [1753-1829, Shikatsube Magao, pupil of Yomo Akara. Used the name 'Yomo' from 1796, when he became a judge of the Yomogawa. Alternative name Kyokado],¹¹¹¹Ibid., p. 214. all from the Eastern Capital, Toto, i.e., Edo.

The poem by Shitami is not convincing proof of his ability - unless it refers to something only understood by the others. It reads:

Though my name is not included among the Seven Herbs of Spring, still I rejoice at the news that the Eastern Capital has 'picked' me.

The poem by Monoyana plays on elements in the poet's name, the 'high', Jo (suitei) and 'low', Shita (mi) being complementary; at the same time, this combination of characters can be read as kamishimo, the ceremonial garb Shitami wears on this festive occasion:

Just as plums and willows always match in poems, the kamishimo suits you well.

Issued by followers of the poet Yomo Magao
Signature reading: Sori ga (trimmed off on this copy)

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 88

M. Forrer, 2013, 'Katsushika Hokusai, Poet Reading a Poem, Japan, c. 1797', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.360421