Dragon head halberd

Dated 1885, this surimono pictures a dragon-head halberd - a ceremonial weapon whose carved dragon finial connects the print to a long tradition of auspicious dragon imagery in Japanese and Chinese art. The dragon was associated with imperial power, water, rain, and good fortune, and weapons of this type appeared in religious processions and theatrical staging. Zeshin's surimono frequently focused on a single object of cultural or seasonal significance, treated as a visual emblem rather than a documented artifact, and the dragon-head halberd would have resonated with kyoka poets writing in 1885 on themes of strength, antiquity, or military display. The sheet is in the Art Institute of Chicago, where it is catalogued among Zeshin's late surimono. The fineness of the line block and the soft color washes are typical of the high-end production standards still maintained by Tokyo printers in the mid-1880s for privately commissioned editions.