Blue Shell (Aogai), from the series "Five Colors (Goshiki no uchi)"

From the circa 1820 [surimono](/glossary/surimono) series Five Colors (Goshiki no uchi), Blue Shell (Aogai) takes the abalone shell as both a literal subject and a color reference. Series organized around the five classical colors were a popular structural conceit in surimono, allowing a designer to produce a coherent body of related prints over months or seasons for a single kyoka club. The shell motif draws on the Heian-period kaiawase shell-matching game, a frequent reference in classical Japanese poetry, and Shinsai's composition gives the iridescent surface of the abalone the material weight that surimono printing made possible—metallic pigments and burnished details could approximate the actual play of color across a real shell. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this impression as part of its strong holdings of Shinsai's series work.