Stone of Three Lights: Sun, Moon and Star
19th century
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
7 11/16 x 7 1/8 in. (19.5 x 18.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP1963
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late Edo period, Keisai Eisen created this delicate surimono woodblock print, a privately commissioned art form popular among poets, scholars, and connoisseurs in 19th-century Japan. Measuring just under eight inches square, the work uses ink and color on paper to depict celestial motifs of the sun, moon, and stars—symbols often linked to seasonal change, poetry, and the harmony of nature. Surimono were typically produced in limited editions with refined techniques such as embossing or metallic pigments, distinguishing them from more commercial ukiyo-e prints. Eisen, active during the ...
About the Artist
Keisai Eisen · 1790–1848
Keisai Eisen (1790–1848), born Ikeda Yoshinobu in Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as one of the late Edo period's most prolific ukiyo-e masters. The son of the renowned calligrapher and Kanō-school painter Ikeda Shigeharu, Eisen was immersed in the arts from childhood. He apprenticed under Kanō Hakkeisai, adopting the art name "Keisai" in homage to his teacher, and later studied bijin-ga (images of be...