Description
This is a striking image of a rising sun and 50 cranes flying in formation above a cloud bank. These symbols of long life were used here to honor the 50th birthday of the poet Baigyo. Called chimei, a 50th birthday was seen as a big stepping-stone in life and a halfway point to the idealized old age of 100.
The artist Bokushin is not well known today, indicating the great number of artists available to surimono publishers at this time. He may have been a poet who excelled in the visual arts. It is also possible that the design was copied from a work with a similar design by another artist.
Accession Number
41906
Medium
Color woodblock print; surimono
Dimensions
57 × 43.7 cm (22 1/2 × 17 1/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Credit Line
Charles H. Mitchell Collection unrestricted gift
Related Artworks
Three Chinese Children
Unknown Artist
Feeding the Carp at Kameido
Isoda Koryusai
The Actor Segawa Kikunojo II as the Courtesan Maizuru in the Play Furisode Kisaragi Soga, Performed at the Ichimura Theater in the Second Month, 1772
Katsukawa Shunsho
Nakamura Utaemon I as Karashi Baba and Yoshizawa Sakinosuke III as Shirotae
Katsukawa Shunsho