A young woman carrying a basket of eggplants, with Mt Fuji in the background
Isoda Koryūsai
Description
This print is half of a famous pair of images made for celebrating the New Year. A young woman in a fashionable plaid kimono is shown walking along with one hand coyly placed at her cheek, while in the other hand she carries a basket of the delicious round eggplants of Suruga province. Mt. Fuji, a hawk, and and eggplants are considered the "three auspicious emblems" for New Year's Day, because of a punning phrase: hatsu yume fujitaka nasu, which can be rendered as "May the first dream of the new year (hatsu yume) be (nasu) of unsurpassed greatness (fujitaka).
The tall narrow format is typical of the so-called pillar print (Japanese, hashira-e): these prints were often tacked or pasted to walls, and so rarely survive in good condition. This particular example is quite dark from overexposure to light in the past.
M. Graybill, Senior Curator of Asian Art
June 2006
Subject Matter:
The Label Copy details most subject matter information.
The pillar print or hashira-e was a specialty of Isoda Koryusai and he produced over 350 of them. Furthermore, his subject matter the beautiful woman, is featured in his other famous work, a series of prints called Models for Fashion: New Designs as Fresh Young Leaves (Hinagata wakana no hatsumoyō, 1776–81).
Physical Description:
This long and narrow print depicts a woman carrying a basket of eggplants with Mt. Fuji in the background. The woman looks to her right and raises a hand to her face. Her kimono is checkered and Mt. Fuji is surrounded by clouds. There is a vertical inscription on the bottom right.
Usage Rights:
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