Totoya Hokkei

God and Cocks

Japan, Japan, Japan, 1825

Inscriptions

  • collector's mark, verso, stamped
  • collector's mark, verso, stamped

Provenance

…; collection Charles M. Mali (collector's mark);…; the dealer Albert Van Loock, Brussels (L. 3751); or the dealer Albert Van Loock, Brussels (L. 3751);…; collection Charles M. Mali (collector's mark);…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1982;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 19, cat. no. 20 by whom donated to the museum, 1991

ObjectNumber: RP-P-1991-453

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

Context

One of the sheets of this pentaptych has a poem by Dondontei Wataru who, according to Kano2Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 256. died in VII/1822, which would contradict the dating of 1825 adopted here. However, as Wataru is also known to have selected some kyoka collections as late as 18253The Kyoka as a Guide to the Beauties of the Yoshiwara in the Four Seasons, Kyoka Yoshiwaragata shiki saiken, (Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 72.) and 1827^[A Hundred Kyoka of Successful Poets, Kyoka shusse hyakushu, (Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 73.) this would either mean that the date in Kano4Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 256. is incorrect, or that there was also a Dondontei Wataru II.

The complete pentaptych is in the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden (563a-1-5) and is reproduced in Kyrova.5Kyrova, Magda, et al., The Ear Catches the Eye. Music in Japanese Prints. Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2000, p. 63.

For other designs from this pentaptych, see:
No. 1 6Japanische Surimono, Sale Catalogue, 10 September?3 October 1987, Vienna: Galerie Zacke 1987, p. 4.; Mirviss, Joan B. and John T. Carpenter, The Frank Lloyd Wright Collection of Surimono. New York: Weatherhill; Phoenix, Ariz.: Phoenix Art Museum, 1995, p. 121; McKee, D., Japanese Poetry Prints: Surimono from the Schoff Collection. Ithaca, NY: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art/Cornell University, 2006, p. 53.
No. 4 7Graupe, Paul, Japansammlung Exz. Solf† Berlin. Farbenholzschnitte, Surimono, Chawan, Netsuke und Kakemono. Berlin /.../ 19.Juni 1936. Berlin: Paul Graupe, 1936, p. 269a. (no ill.); Ward, Sidney C., One Hundred Surimono in the Collection of Sidney C. Ward. Privately published, 1976, p. 22; Fine Japanese Prints from the Collection of Sidney C. Ward /.../ November 5, 1985. New York: Christie’s, Manson & Woods International, 1985, p. 86; Japanische Surimono, Sale Catalogue, 10 September?3 October 1987, Vienna: Galerie Zacke 1987, p. 5; Mirviss, Joan B. and John T. Carpenter, Jewels of Japanese Printmaking: Surimono of the Bunka-Bunsei Era 1804-1830 (Amerika no 3 josei ga atsumeta Bunka, Bunsei no shugyoku no surimono). Tokyo: Ota Memorial Museum of Art & Nihon Keizai Shinbun, 2000, p. 45; McKee, D., Japanese Poetry Prints: Surimono from the Schoff Collection. Ithaca, NY: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art/Cornell University, 2006, p. 55.
No. 5 8Graupe, Paul, Japansammlung Exz. Solf† Berlin. Farbenholzschnitte, Surimono, Chawan, Netsuke und Kakemono. Berlin /.../ 19 Juni 1936. Berlin: Paul Graupe, 1936, p. 269b. (no ill.); Boisgirard, Claude and Axel de Heeckeren, _Très importante collection de 260 surimono /.../_Paris, Drouot, 29-30 juin 1978. Paris: 1978, p. 107.

Apart from a large untitled series of still lifes designed by Ryuryukyo Shinsai for the New Year of 1821 (see Keyes9Keyes, 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. 285.), the Taikogawa rarely issued series of surimono:
1812: Shinsai: single print for Dondontei10Keyes, 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. 277.
1820: Kunisada diptych11Kühne, Helmut, 'The Lusy Collection of Surimono', in: Sidney C. Ward (ed.), Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Surimono /.../ July 23 and 24, 1977, pp. 13-16. International Surimono Society, 1979, p. 189.
early 1820s: Shinsai: Still-lives (series)
1822: Shuntei: Chohi on horseback, Hanagasaren12McKee, D., Japanese Poetry Prints: Surimono from the Schoff Collection. Ithaca, NY: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art/Cornell University, 2006, p. 52.
Shinsai: Genji series (3?);
1823(?): Shuntei: Shichifukujin, 7 Lucky Gods for Hanagasaren13Kühne, Helmut, ‘The Lusy Collection of Surimono, in: Sidney C. Ward (ed.), Proceedings of The First International Symposium on Surimono /.../ July 23 and 24, 1977, pp. 13?16. International Surimono Society, 1979, p. 273.
1824(?): Gakutei: Needlework (diptych)14Keyes, 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. 78.
1825: Hokkei: Toriawase sanban no uchi (triptych)15Keyes, 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. 123.
1825: Hokkei: haru no iwato (pentaptych);
1827(?): Hokkei: single print 16Keyes, 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, pp. 133, 261. (Setsuri [Meiji reprint only]).

The artist

Biography

Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850) was a pupil of Katsushika Hokusai, although he was first trained in the Kano painting tradition and used the art-names Kyosai and Aoigaoka. He was one of the most prolific designers of surimono in the 1820s and early 1830s, and also illustrated numerous collections of kyoka poetry.

Entry

A long-nosed, long-haired, bearded man with a sword and holding a halberd standing by a rooster and hen.

The man is the god Sarutahiko who accompanied Uzume in her dancing during the combined efforts of the gods to lure the Goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu no Omikami, from the cave where she was hiding. It is interesting to compare Hokkei's designs of especially sheets 2 and 3 of this pentaptych to the illustrations of Sarutahiko Daijin and Ama no Uzume no mikoto in Hokusai manga, vol. 5, 25b/26a of 1816.

Number Two, Sono ni, from the pentaptych The Cave of Spring, Haru no iwato.

This is the second sheet only of a pentaptych composition based on the myth of the Sun Goddess who, angry at her brother's behaviour, hid in a cave, and resisted the attempts by the other gods to draw her out. From right to left, a god beating a drum, Sarutahiko dancing, the Goddess Uzume no mikoto dancing, Ama no Tajikarao removing the stone closing the cave, and a god playing the flute.

Two poems by Saiseitei Nanao [also Kireitei],17Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 155. and Sekigentei Namio [a member of the Taikogawa]. The second poem concludes with a reference to the 'First Day of the Year of the Cock'.

Issued by the Taikogawa
Signature reading: Hokkei, with seal: Hokkei

Literature

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 326

Citation

M. Forrer, 2013, 'Totoya Hokkei, God and Cocks, Japan, 1825', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.432507

(accessed 15 June 2025 19:55:44).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 19, cat. no. 20
  • 2Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 256.
  • 3The Kyoka as a Guide to the Beauties of the Yoshiwara in the Four Seasons, Kyoka Yoshiwaragata shiki saiken, (Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 72.) and 1827^[A Hundred Kyoka of Successful Poets, Kyoka shusse hyakushu, (Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 73.)
  • 4Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 256.
  • 5Kyrova, Magda, et al., The Ear Catches the Eye. Music in Japanese Prints. Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2000, p. 63.
  • 6Japanische Surimono, Sale Catalogue, 10 September?3 October 1987, Vienna: Galerie Zacke 1987, p. 4.; Mirviss, Joan B. and John T. Carpenter, The Frank Lloyd Wright Collection of Surimono. New York: Weatherhill; Phoenix, Ariz.: Phoenix Art Museum, 1995, p. 121; McKee, D., Japanese Poetry Prints: Surimono from the Schoff Collection. Ithaca, NY: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art/Cornell University, 2006, p. 53.
  • 7Graupe, Paul, Japansammlung Exz. Solf† Berlin. Farbenholzschnitte, Surimono, Chawan, Netsuke und Kakemono. Berlin /.../ 19.Juni 1936. Berlin: Paul Graupe, 1936, p. 269a. (no ill.); Ward, Sidney C., One Hundred Surimono in the Collection of Sidney C. Ward. Privately published, 1976, p. 22; Fine Japanese Prints from the Collection of Sidney C. Ward /.../ November 5, 1985. New York: Christie’s, Manson & Woods International, 1985, p. 86; Japanische Surimono, Sale Catalogue, 10 September?3 October 1987, Vienna: Galerie Zacke 1987, p. 5; Mirviss, Joan B. and John T. Carpenter, Jewels of Japanese Printmaking: Surimono of the Bunka-Bunsei Era 1804-1830 (Amerika no 3 josei ga atsumeta Bunka, Bunsei no shugyoku no surimono). Tokyo: Ota Memorial Museum of Art & Nihon Keizai Shinbun, 2000, p. 45; McKee, D., Japanese Poetry Prints: Surimono from the Schoff Collection. Ithaca, NY: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art/Cornell University, 2006, p. 55.
  • 8Graupe, Paul, Japansammlung Exz. Solf† Berlin. Farbenholzschnitte, Surimono, Chawan, Netsuke und Kakemono. Berlin /.../ 19 Juni 1936. Berlin: Paul Graupe, 1936, p. 269b. (no ill.); Boisgirard, Claude and Axel de Heeckeren, Très importante collection de 260 surimono /.../Paris, Drouot, 29-30 juin 1978. Paris: 1978, p. 107.
  • 9Keyes, 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. 285.
  • 10Keyes, 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. 277.
  • 11Kühne, Helmut, 'The Lusy Collection of Surimono', in: Sidney C. Ward (ed.), Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Surimono /.../ July 23 and 24, 1977, pp. 13-16. International Surimono Society, 1979, p. 189.
  • 12McKee, D., Japanese Poetry Prints: Surimono from the Schoff Collection. Ithaca, NY: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art/Cornell University, 2006, p. 52.
  • 13Kühne, Helmut, ‘The Lusy Collection of Surimono, in: Sidney C. Ward (ed.), Proceedings of The First International Symposium on Surimono /.../ July 23 and 24, 1977, pp. 13?16. International Surimono Society, 1979, p. 273.
  • 14Keyes, 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. 78.
  • 15Keyes, 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. 123.
  • 16Keyes, 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, pp. 133, 261.
  • 17Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 155.