Kruiden hakken

Ryûryûkyo Shinsai (vermeld op object), 1809

Een vrouw hakt kruiden op een plank die ondersteund wordt door twee houten tonnen. Een tweede vrouw kijkt toe met een emmer onder haar arm. Op de achtergrond een dorp en mensen op het strand. Het vollersblok, gebruikt om stoffen te vervilten, waar de titel van de prent naar verwijst, is niet aanwezig op de prent. Het hakken op de snijplank verwijst er waarschijnlijk naar. Met één gedicht.

  • Soort kunstwerkprent, surimono
  • ObjectnummerRP-P-1991-620
  • Afmetingenblad: hoogte 137 mm x breedte 184 mm
  • Fysieke kenmerkenkleurenhoutsnede; blinddruk; lijnblok in zwart met kleurblokken; metaalpigmenten

Ryûryûkyo Shinsai

Chopping Herbs

Japan, Japan, 1809

Provenance

…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1987;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 43, cat. no. 87 by whom donated to the museum, 1991

Object number: RP-P-1991-620

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


Context

The Kinutagai is Number 17 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

A woman seated at a large chopping board supported by two buckets, chopping herbs that are being prepared by another woman. In the distance a coastal village with people walking on the beach.

The Fulling Block Shell, Kinutagai (unidentified), from the series A Matching Game of Poems, Kasen awase.

Commonly, a fulling block, kinuta, is used for fulling or thickening cloth, as in the Austrian Loden. However, the fulling block is not visible in this design; the woman is simply using a chopping-board, manaita. In his series A Matching Game with the Genroku Poem Shells, Genroku kasen kaiawase, of 1821 (e.g. RP-P-1963-26), Hokusai also depicted a shell more resembling a manaita than a real kinuta (see RP-P-1963-26).

One poem by Nezame [Yasuki]. The poem refers to the 'Fulling Block Shell reflecting the purple mist of Spring'.

Issued by the Yomogawa
Signature reading: Shinsai ga


Literature

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 159a


Citation

M. Forrer, 2013, 'Ryûryûkyo Shinsai, Chopping Herbs, Japan, 1809', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200467486

(accessed 12 January 2026 03:34:24).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 43, cat. no. 87