The Wife's Surprise (Tsumatachi no saku), from the series "The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan)"

Series:: The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan)
Date:: 1938
Medium:: Woodblock print
Edition:: Self-printed
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Rare early signed work in excellent condition: $5,000–$25,000
Fine signed mid-century print: $2,000–$8,000
Good condition signed example: $500–$2,500

Description

"The Wife's Surprise (Tsumatachi no saku)" from the series "The Tale of the Auklet" (1938) captures the moment of revelation — the wife encountering something unexpected in the narrative's unfolding. The title's plural "tsumatachi" (wives) suggests multiple female figures, their collective surprise constituting a moment of social and emotional drama within the auklet's narrative framework. Munakata's rendering of surprise — the body caught in the moment of recognition — would be characteristic: not a theatrical gesture but the physical fact of a sudden shift in the posture of understanding.

More Prints by Shiko Munakata

Flying Over the Mountains (Yamagoe), from the series "The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan)"

1960

Woodblock print

Bodhisattva Manjusri (Monju bosatsu no saku), from the series Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha Sakyamuni (Shaka jûdai deshi), Shôwa period, undated (block carved 1948)

Shôwa period, 1926-1989

Woodblock print

Ragora (Rahula), from the series "Two Bodhisattva and Ten Great Disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni (Nibosatsu Shaka judai deshi)"

1939-68

Woodblock print

Ubari (Upali), from the series "Two Bodhisattva and Ten Great Disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni (Nibosatsu Shaka judai deshi)"

1939 (printed 1955)

Woodblock print

More Figures Prints

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Celebrating the Good Harvest: Felicitations for a Thousand Ages (Nôhônen, Chiyo no kotobuki)

Woodblock print

Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962

Woodblock print

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Sōsaku-Hanga: The Creative-Print Movement Bijin-ga: Japanese Beauty Prints Japanese Ghost and Yōkai Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

The Wife's Surprise (Tsumatachi no saku), from the series "The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan)" was created by Shiko Munakata (棟方志功) in 1938.

Yes — The Wife's Surprise (Tsumatachi no saku), from the series "The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan)" is part of the The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan) series by Shiko Munakata.

The Wife's Surprise (Tsumatachi no saku), from the series "The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan)" depicts figures, bijin-ga, and mythology.