Japanese Woodblock Surimono - Surimono are an exclusive subcategory of Japanese wood block prints. They were privately commissioned works intended to be distributed to a small audience of friends, colleagues or like-minded members of a "poetry circle". The most common surimono style included an image and a poetry verse. Some surimono depict well-known stories from ancient legend and are fantastic individual works of art without any calligraphy. Because of the exclusive nature of surimono, and the fact that they were commissioned by wealthy individuals, the level of workmanship was excellent. The designs are stunning, and usually printed to the highest standards on expensive paper with fine pigments and embellishments. The carvers and printers were leaders in their fields. Since surimono were not sold to a commercial audience the print runs were very small and original surimono are incredibly rare in the market today.

Series - none


Artist - see Biography


Signature - Oju Kunikazu hitzu (granted and painted by Kunikazu應 国員 筆), lower right, together with a red seal


Publisher - no seal  (Surimono)


Image Size - 37.7x 51.0 cm (14 9/16" x 20 5/64"); o-oban format (folded);


Condition - single sheet; printed on thick hosho paper; backed; usual folds of a Surimono;