摺物帖　『春雨集』　『花鳥六番之内　下野宇都宮』　海棠に山雀|Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 3: Marsh-tits and Crab Apple Flowers

Art Historical Context

Teisai Hokuba's *Spring Rain Collection (Harus shū)*, volume 3, titled *Marsh-tits and Apple Flowers*, captures the delicate beauty of spring in Edo-period Japan around 1820. This intimate woodblock print, part of a privately published surimono album measures a compact 8 x 7 3/8 inches and depicts marsh-tits perched among blooming crab apple branches, their feathers and petals rendered in vibrant ink and color on paper. Hokuba, a pupil of the famed Katsushika Hokusai, infused his ukiyo-e style with poetic lyricism, blending realism and elegance in this "floating world" tradition. Surimono, meaning "printed things," were luxurious, limited-edition prints commissioned for special occasions like New Year's greetings or poetry gatherings. Often featuring kyōka (witty poems) and embossed details, they showcased advanced woodblock techniques such as mica dusting and subtle gradations (bokashi) for lifelike textures. This album format allowed collectors to savor such gems privately, reflecting the refined tastes of Japan's urban literati during the Edo period (1615–1868). Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art Department from the H. O. Havemeyer Collection, this work celebrates nature's fleeting harmony—birds flitting through fresh leaves and blossoms—inviting viewers to pause and appreciate Japan's enduring reverence for seasonal ephemera.

About the Artist

Teisai Hokuba · 1771–1844

Teisai Hokuba (1771–1844) was a Japanese artist of the Edo period who worked in the tradition of ukiyo-e, the celebrated school of woodblock prints and paintings that depicted the floating world of urban pleasure, theater, landscape, and daily life. A devoted pupil of Katsushika Hokusai — one of the towering figures in the history of Japanese art — Hokuba adopted the prefix of his master's name as...