Two birds and the Moon

This woodblock print is a good example of the Japanese surimono art form. These limited-edition, privately commissioned works are finely crafted; smaller than an ōban, they often combine verse and image in complementary arrangements. The sophistication of surimono printing is evident in the suggestive gauffrage designs, judicious applications of silver pigment and delicate tonal modulation in the depiction of crows (karasu) flying before the moon by Ryūryūkyo Shinsai (c.1764–1823). In the Shinto religion, crows are thought to be messengers of the gods, and this work was published to celebrate the new year. The delicate white ‘boneless’ (without outline) profile just visible on the silver moon reminded Shinsai’s viewers of Gyokuto, or Jade Hare – the ‘rabbit in the moon’ – grinding rice in a mortar to make the mochi rice cakes that were gifted at the start of the new year. In Chinese traditions, Jade Hare is grinding the elixir of life – a theme with origins in the sixth-century CE Indian new year tale of Sasa-Jātaka. Crows are usually associated with autumn, but the crow whose call signals New Year’s Day is a symbol of the sun and suggests a positive year to follow. In spring poetry, the hardy white plum blossom is often associated with the last snow: ‘The flowers of the plum scatter in my garden – a shower of snow from the heavens'. (Waga sono ni ume no hana chiruhisakata no ame yori yuki no nagare kuru kamo [Ōtomo no Tabito, Man’yōshū, 5: 822).

See: David Bell, 'Floating word at Te Papa: the Heriot collection', Tuhinga, 30 (2019), pp. 56-81.

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   May 2019