Two crabs by a spray of camellia

Two crabs by a spray of camellia, dated to the late 1820s or early 1830s, is a shikishiban surimono by Katsushika Taito II in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The print is a fine example of kacho-ga in the Hokusai-school manner, combining two crabs at the lower edge of the sheet with a spray of camellia branching upward—a deliberate juxtaposition of the crustaceans' segmented forms with the soft, layered petals of the flower. Both subjects carry poetic associations in Japanese literature: camellia (tsubaki) symbolizes the early flowering of spring, while crabs evoke coastal and freshwater abundance. The pairing would have supported a kyoka verse on the same sheet, with the poem likely playing on the seasonal or auditory contrast between the two motifs. Taito II's drawing emphasizes the textural difference between the crabs' shells and the camellia's smooth petals, while the printing preserves the metallic and embossed effects that marked surimono as luxury commissions. The Art Institute's collection of Taito II surimono provides one of the richest study groups outside Japan.