Lucky Dream(s) of the New Year
Artist/Culture
Isoda Koryūsai 磯田 湖龍齋
(Japanese, 1735–about 1790)
Datemid- to late 1770s
Mediumwoodblock print
Dimensions67 x 11.6 cm (26 3/8 x 4 9/16 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection
Object number1901.168
DescriptionA young woman has fallen asleep at a table. On the table is an ink-stone, a cake of sumi (Chinese ink and a fude-tate (brush-holder) in which several brushes are standing. She is dreaming of Mt. Fuji, a falcon and three eggplants. To dream of these on the night after the first day of the year was thought to be good luck for the next year.Label Text2005: Isoda Koryusai (1735-90) Lucky Dream(s) of the New Year (Hatsuyume) Mid to late 1770s Artist's signature: Koryu ga (drawn by Koryu) Woodblock print; ink and color on paper; nishiki-e; hashira-e John Chandler Bancroft Collection, 1901.168 The Japanese have long valued the importance of interpreting dreams. Koryusai is known to have designed at least nine different pillar prints in which the upper half of the composition depicts the dream of a person shown in the lower half of the print. The high-ranking courtesan in this print, dressed in her finest robes and over-garment (uchikake), has fallen asleep at a desk replete with elegant writing utensils (paper, water-dropper, brushes, brush-pot, ink and ink-stone). After a day of participating in New Year's celebrations she needs to write letters to her paProvenanceJohn Chandler Bancroft, Boston, MA
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