すだれ貝|The Curtain Clam

Suzuki Harunobu

Date unknown · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

The young ladies are at the shore. One is getting out of a chair while the other ties a sash about her hips below her "obi." A subtle tone of carpe diem cleverly embedded in the poem deepens the provacative tinge of this charming scene, one of a series that plays on the theme of types of seashells. The "sudare-gai" is a mollusk that was named for the boiled blinds of reed or thin bamboo slats that are still used in Japan to provide the shade and privacy between the interior space and the outside garden. In poetic convention it is a motif of intrinsic eroticism and has a seasonal association with spring. In this print, a small "sudare" covers the window of the palalquin that has carried these courtesans to the shore for a spring outing. Nami kakaru fukiage no hama no sudaregai nami mo zo orusu isogi hirowan. A cool breeze whips the waves onto shore let's hurry to gather the shells.

Artist

Suzuki Harunobu

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929