Ofusa and Tokubei (Ofusa Tokubei), from the series: All About Dramas

Surimono were typically made for the New Year, either as picture calendars or as New Year’s greetings commissioned by poetry groups. Teisai Shuri’s design exemplifies the ways that surimono combine visual clues with poems to form literary puzzles for the print’s recipient to decipher. Here the various elements refer to a puppet play, “Love Suicide at the Well Curb,” about Ofusa and Tokubei, a young couple who as children played beside a well, represented here by the wooden tub that resembles the circular well frame. The poem’s reference to the warbler conveys the lovers’ sensitivity and depth of feeling. (“American Sojourns and the Collecting of Japanese Art,” curated by Ellen Avril and presented at the Johnson Museum June 25–December 18, 2016)•Commissioned by the Lute Circle (Biwa-ren) for a New Year, ca. 1810 Katakuna no Not a trace of its Inaka sodachi ni Brute, countryside Ni mo tsukanu Upbringing is carried Hatsune yasashiki In the gentle first notes Kesa no uguisu Of the warbler this morning —Bempatei HamatsunaThe character names of the subtitle refer to the play “Love Suicide at the Well Curb” (Shinju kasane izutsu), one of the puppet plays of Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653–1724), in which a pair of lovers, unable to have their affair sanctioned by their families and society, determines to die together. Such dramas, often loosely based on actual events, were tremendously popular at the turn of the eighteenth century, and sparked a rash of love suicides, leading to more plays. This particular play by Chikamatsu borrowed a theme from classical literature as its motif, specifically the section of Ise monogatari describing the love of a young couple who had played in childhood beside a well. The wooden tub in the print resembles the circular well frame of the story, while the dyed cloths, one of which bears the emblem of the commissioning club, the Biwa Group, may refer to Tokubei’s profession as a dyer of textiles. Ofusa literally means “tassel,” which could relate to the white cloth hanging from the kettle’s handle. The two teacups themselves, varying in size, may represent the lead characters. The poem refers, through the spring motif of the warbler, to the surprising sensitivity of these figures, who display great depths of feeling in spite of their humble backgrounds.