8 Field Museum of Natural History 



which they are made is the same as that employed in 

 the making of the ordinary print, with the additional 

 use of metal dusts: copper, silver, and gold, used to 

 heighten the elegant effect of brocade. They are also 

 enriched by embossing, which in many cases brings out 

 the design of fabrics, waves, clouds, feathers, flower- 

 petals, or the rounding of a figure. 



The method of producing them is as follows : The 

 picture is first painted by the artist and pasted face 

 downward on a block of cherry wood, whereon the 

 carver cuts the picture in outline, making what is called 

 the key-block. This block is then applied to a soft and 

 delicate rice-paper, and the picture is printed in outline 

 in black. The colors are applied by separate blocks, 

 each color denoting a block. (See Hall 24, Case 48, 

 illustrating Chinese and Japanese printing.) It will be 

 noticed that in the surimono the registration of the 

 blocks is very accurate; seldom do we find one color 

 overlapping another. Surimono are the perfection of 

 color printing, technically. 



Generally accompanying the designs on surimono 

 are poems (uta) , which usually are subtle interpreta- 

 tions of the subject pictured. The artists are, for the 

 most part, those known in the print world, though 

 Gakutei and Hokkei are known almost exclusively for 

 their exquisite surimono. The latter was a pupil of 

 Hokusai, the great artist of the nineteenth century, 

 whose prints, as seen here, testify as to his mastery of 

 the brush in figure drawing and his deserved reputation 

 as a great landscape artist. He and his followers may 

 be studied from the first group of surimono. 



All these prints are valuable documents in the study 

 of certain customs and practices, particularly those in 

 the second group which includes surimono illustrating 

 the toys, games, and musical instruments, as well as the 



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