Vastgeplakte sneeuw verwijderen

Ryûryûkyo Shinsai (vermeld op object), 1807

Een vrouw houdt haar sandaal omhoog, zodat een bediende de sneeuw eronder vandaan kan halen. Ze staan naast een groot sneeuwkonijn (in blinddruk). Het verwijderen van sneeuw vanonder de houten sandalen (geta) van dames, was een veel voorkomend onderwerp in Japanse prenten. Met drie gedichten.

  • Soort kunstwerkprent, surimono
  • ObjectnummerRP-P-1991-471
  • Afmetingenblad: hoogte 138 mm x breedte 186 mm
  • Fysieke kenmerkenkleurenhoutsnede; blinddruk; lijnblok in zwart met kleurblokken; metaalpigmenten

Ryûryûkyo Shinsai

Removing Clogged Snow

Japan, Japan, Japan, Japan, 1807

Provenance

…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1983;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 45, cat. no. 94 by whom donated to the museum, 1991

Object number: RP-P-1991-471

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


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 manservant stopping by a large snow-hare to remove clogged snow from under a lady's geta. A snow-covered plum tree behind a fence.

Removing snow from under a lady's wooden clogs, geta, is a traditional subject in Japanese prints, dating back at least to the benizurie of the 1740s. It was so well known that a design by Choki from the 1790s showing only a bust-portrait of the woman and the head of the manservant was apparently understood by the public of the time.

Three poems by Osore Yasunari, Nanigotomo Yoshinari and Kenkotei Hanafusa.

All the poems refer to 'a light Spring snow'.

Issued by the poets
Signature reading: Shinsai ga


Literature

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 143


Citation

M. Forrer, 2013, 'Ryûryûkyo Shinsai, Removing Clogged Snow, Japan, 1807', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200467479

(accessed 11 December 2025 20:14:00).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 45, cat. no. 94