East Asia Digital Library

Link to Source : 본초강목 52권 부도 2권 , Compendium of Materia Medica Vol. 52권 Appendix Vol.2

Gifts from the Ebb Tide

Titledcterms:title: 潮干のつと

Creatordc:creator: 喜多川歌麿 [画], あけら菅江 [編]

Publisherdc:publisher: Goshodo Tsutaya Jūzaburō, 耕書堂蔦屋重三郎

Issueddcterms:issued: 1700

URI: eadl:DM-NDL000007295045

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Abstract

In Japan, collecting beautiful shells and decorating them with poems is an elegant pastime dating from ancient times. Shiohi no tsuto (Gifts from the ebb tide, popularly known in English as The Shell Book), is an illustrated book of multicolored woodblock prints by Kitagawa Utamaro (circa 1753–1806). Such ehon (picture books) are part of a long tradition featuring the fine collaborative work of artists, calligraphers, writers, papermakers, block cutters, and printers. This one, published in about 1789 by Tsutaya Jūzaburō, has 36 kyōka (humorous and satirical Japanese poems of 31 syllables) by a number of different poets illustrating the 36 shells. The book begins with a scene of shiohigari (clam-digging), followed by six pages of elaborately drawn pictures of shells with the kyōka, and concludes with a scene of the shell-matching game. On some pages, metal dust, crushed shell, and mother-of-pearl has been applied, conveying sheen or sparkle, and the texture enhanced by pressing carved stone against the paper without ink (blind embossing).(en)

彩色摺狂歌絵本。「潮干のつと」とは「潮干狩りのみやげ」という意味。36種の貝と、初めと終わりに付した関連美人風俗図を、朱楽菅江（1738-98）と彼の率いる朱楽連の狂歌師たち38名が１名１首ずつ詠む。画工は喜多川歌麿（?-1806）。本書には波模様や「貝合せ図」の障子に映る手拭いの影の有無等、摺りが異なるものが数種存在するが、この本には波模様、影ともに無い。本書は安永から寛政にかけて蔦屋重三郎が刊行した狂歌絵本の代表的なもので、空摺りや雲母などが施され、当時の最高水準の技術を駆使して制作された華美で贅沢な作品である。