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Shoki Banner

A work made of color woodblock print; surimono.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of color woodblock print; surimono.

Date:

1864

Artist:

Matsukawa Hanzan
Japanese, c. 1820-1882

About this artwork

In this print, a portrait of the demon slayer Shoki appears on a fluttering banner. Raising a sword in his right hand, he wards off attackers with his outstretched left hand. Banners featuring Shoki traditionally appeared at the Boys’ Day festival, partly to celebrate the boys in a family and partly to guard against disease. Both Shoki and the color red were believed to be effective barriers against common and often deadly diseases like smallpox.

In addition to illustrating many books, Hanzan also created surimono prints for poetry groups active in the Osaka and Kyoto areas. He signed this work with the term oju, indicating that it was made in return for a friendly request, perhaps from Kiitsu, the leader of this poetry gathering.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Artist

Matsukawa Hanzan

Title

Shoki Banner

Place

Japan (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1864

Medium

Color woodblock print; surimono

Dimensions

24.8 × 18.2 cm (9 13/16 × 7 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Charles H. Mitchell Collection unrestricted gift

Reference Number

1972.1573

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/42508/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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