Drawing Water from the Well

Ryûryûkyo Shinsai (mentioned on object), 1809

Twee vrouwen halen het eerste water van het nieuwe jaar uit een waterput. Traditiegetrouw is er varenblad en een gedraaid touw bevestigd aan de houten emmer die één van de vrouwen vasthoudt. Op de achtergrond een bloeiende pruimenboom. Met twee gedichten.

  • Artwork typeprint, surimono
  • Object numberRP-P-1995-286
  • Dimensionsheight 134 mm x width 184 mm
  • Physical characteristicsnishikie, with metallic pigments

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Ryûryûkyo Shinsai (mentioned on object), 1809

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Ryûryûkyo Shinsai (mentioned on object), 1807

Dansende courtisane

Ryûryûkyo Shinsai

Drawing Water from the Well

Japan, Japan, Japan, 1809

Provenance

…; purchased from the dealer C.P.J. van der Peet Japanese Prints, Amsterdam, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1992;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 45, cat. no. 92 by whom donated to the museum, 1995

Object number: RP-P-1995-286

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

Context

The Murasakigai is Number 13 in Oeda Ryuho's A Series of Shells as Brocade of the Coast, Kaitsukushi ura no nishiki, of 1749.

For general notes on the series, see RP-P-1991-561.

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

Two ladies at a well, drawing the first water, wakamizu, of the New Year. A blossoming plum tree at right. For this special occasion, the waiting lady has twisted straw ropes, shimenawa, ferns, urajiro, and other leaves tied to her bucket.

The Purple Shell, Murasakigai (Soletellina diphos L.), from the series A Matching Game of Poems, Kasen awase.

Two poems by Yukeisai Sekimori, from Sakura, 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].2Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 214.

Both poems allude to the well, the first also to the 'colour of the Purple Shell', murasaki gai no iro, the second mainly to the custom of drawing the first water in the New Year.

Issued by the Yomogawa
Signature reading: Shinsai ga

Literature

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 158

Citation

M. Forrer, 2013, 'Ryûryûkyo Shinsai, Drawing Water from the Well, Japan, 1809', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200382603

(accessed 22 December 2025 14:56:47).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 45, cat. no. 92
  • 2Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 214.