
The Wife's Surprise (Tsumatachi no saku), from the series "The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan)"
- Date:
- 1938
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
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.
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Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
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.







