At the Beach of Shichirigahama

At the Beach of Shichirigahama is a long [surimono](/glossary/surimono) (naga-surimono) dated to 1805 in which Shinsai treats the famed coastline of the Shonan region southwest of Kamakura. Shichirigahama, a long sand beach with views toward Enoshima and Mount Fuji, was a recognized utamakura—a place-name with established poetic resonance—and Shinsai's horizontal panel takes advantage of the geography to extend the composition across the print's full width. The long surimono format was reserved for special commissions, and the date suggests an early career commission of some ambition. The print is held at the Art Institute of Chicago. As one of Shinsai's more topographically explicit designs, it supplies useful counterpoint to his predominantly still-life and figural work and shows his command of the landscape mode that Hokusai would later make canonical.