we cite, from the collection of Mr. Chialiva:
– A unique surimono, the largest known surimono by the artist (L. 100 cm), representing a bridge in the style of the great bridge over the Sumida by Utamaro, and in which it is believed that Hokusai is shown in profile in a little black hat, witha bluish robe. On the bridge men and women walking take a break to rest and contemplate. There is also a group of three women, one of whom is leaning her head over the railing, looking at the river. A group of men are holding forth. One man, who has hung a flowering branch from a shrub on a beam, is half lying against the gate, while at the edge of the bridge a woman talks with a friend, her two hands pushing against the handrail in a charming, lifelike pose. This surimono, which is the union of two large surimonos, is signed: “Hokusai Sôri”.
1805:
– A six plate series on ‘Women Poets’.
– A series on the ‘Five Elements’.
– A series called Ténjin, after the name of a kami; a mother lifting, with a tender touch, a child above her head to help him pick flowers from a plum tree.
– A series, ‘Springtime Distractions’, in a slightly larger format than the normal format for series of women, and with a more sophisticated technique.
– This year being the year of the bull, one finds all sorts of representations of this animal, as under a rock of this shape.
Among the large plates, one finds:
– The entrance to a temple, where at the door, a man gives water to the faithful to make their ablutions.
– A travelling merchant presents, at the door of a home, washing products to some women.
– A doll’s party with an exhibition of many figurines on a cardboard display shelf, in the middle of which a taï is set for a light meal.
1806:
– A series of seven courtesans, among which one plays the shamisen with very graceful movements.
– A series entitled ‘The Various Countries’. These are imaginary countries. A stamp shows ‘The Kingdom of the Women’, where on one day of the year, under the influence of a west wind, all the women become pregnant. All the women are turned towards this wind.
– 1806 is the year of the tiger and one sees women wearing robes embroidered with tigers.
Among the large plates, one finds:
– The seven gods of the Japanese Olympus, hidden under the pelt of an immense Korean lion, which they make move.
– A landscape of the other side of the Sumida, where one sees the Asakusa temple.
– A boat loaded with barrels of sake.
1807:
– Two children wrestling.
– Two lovers stretched out one next to the other; the woman smoking a little pipe.
– Still lifes: two fish attached to a bamboo branch, a cardboard mask, front and back.
1808:
This year, the painter produced a very small number of surimonos, among which a large plate represents a screen, a bowl and a hairpin on a lacquered tray.
1809:
The little surimonos in which one sees fish, scallops and hawk feathers, used to dust delicate things.
Among the large plates, one finds:
– The making of a standard, whose motto is written in white on a blue background, on which six women are working, in pretty poses. The standard will be given to Yenoshima, at the temple of the goddess Benten.
1810:
Some small still lifes were created, and among others, a surimono representing sticks of India ink and a stamp box.
1812:
– A still life representing a cup and a lacquer display shelf.
1813:
– Okame reading a letter.
1816:
– Kintoki playing with animals.
1817:
– Women dressed in checked fabrics, as was the fashion that year.
– A noble lady, accompanied by a servant girl, passes before a gate where concert programs are posted.
1818:
– Two plates in a square format that will become the typical form for surimonos.
1819:
– Daïkoku walking on the banks of a river populated with fantastic lizards.
The year 1820 sees the reappearance of many surimonos, whose production has become quite rare in the preceding years. Curiously, the influences of Gakutei and Hokkei, two excellent students of Hokusai, can be felt in these works.
– A series of party floats, that one pulled through the streets.
– A series of five women poets.
– A series entitled ‘Comparison of the Strength of the Heroes of China and of Japan’.
Among the single plates, one finds a young girl printing a proof near a woodcutter who is cutting a plate, a man holding to him, posed on a go table, an elegant Japanese doll with marvellous colours coming out of a background of gold, harmoniously ‘green-grey’. One also sees many still lifes, such as a black lacquer bowl and a box of chopsticks, a large plate grouping a cask of sake, a spray of iris and chrysanthemums, and a basket of oranges. This surimono was executed for a banquet given in honour of an academic.
Parody of a Courtesan in a Boat, c. 1804–1805.
Black and coloured ink and gofun on paper, 34.8 × 56.4 cm.
Japanese Ukiyo-e Museum, Matsumoto.
Two Women and a Child on the Shore, c. 1804.
Nishiki-e, 18.9 × 51.6 cm.
Museo d’Arte Orientale Edoardo Chiossone, Genoa.
1821:
– A series entitled ‘The Brothers of the Warrior Subjects of China and Japan’. It evokes the resemblances between the heroic acts of the two countries.
– A large series on trades, of an unknown number.
– A series on trades at the seashore.
– Still lifes, including a series of scallops.
– An isolated page represents a large white
