Woman with Willow Dumplings, Child with Ball

An early nineteenth-century domestic surimono, Woman with Willow Dumplings, Child with Ball depicts a small interior scene built around two characteristically Japanese objects: willow dumplings (mayudama or related New Year sweets) and a temari ball, the embroidered toy associated with women's textile culture and with the new year. Both objects are seasonal cues, and the print's restraint suggests it was designed as a New Year's commission. Shinsai's careful object drawing—the ball's geometric embroidery, the dumplings' compact form—gave the printer ample surface for embossing and color modulation. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves the impression. The print sits at the productive intersection between Shinsai's bijin work and his still-life work that defines so much of his mature output.